He was arrested in the town of Ferney-Voltaire on the Swiss border on Tuesday, Geneva judicial spokesman Henri Della Casa said in a statement.
“Mr. Roger is suspected of attempted blackmail and extortion,” Della Casa said, noting that Roger is a French national and France does not extradite its citizens.
French prosecutors would now be responsible for pursuing the case, he added.
Roger represented French stars like Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and Patrick Vieira before being implicated in financial crimes a decade ago.
He was handed a two-year suspended sentence by a Swiss court in 2008 over mismanagement and falsifying records in connection with the bankruptcy of Geneva club Servette, which he coached.
He was first arrested over Servette's collapse in 2005 but went on the run after being granted bail, evading authorities for 18 months before being arrested in Spain in February 2007.
Spain then extradited him to Switzerland.
FOOTBALL
Former Geneva football coach arrested in extortion case
Former player agent Marc Roger, who previously represented some of football's top names, has been arrested in France on suspicion of committing extortion in Switzerland, Geneva's prosecutor said on Thursday.
RACISM
VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius
Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.
“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.
In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.
Ayer pasó esto en el campo del Valencia
Un niño llamando "mono" a Vinicius, y la madre en vez de regañarle se encara con la que graba pic.twitter.com/XGXj4ADsCc
— Gravesen (@GravesenFumado) March 3, 2024
The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.
Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.
The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.
Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.
READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans
Please whitelist us to continue reading.
Member comments