El Hadji Diou is facing the prospect of jail time after claims that he abandoned his family. The former Liverpool striker has been in trouble with the law before, and looks to have landed himself in it yet again
According to reports in The Sun, Diouf has been accused by his ex-wife of not paying her £14,000 in child maintenance fees. The 44-year-old was due to appear at a court hearing in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, on Tuesday, but failed to show up.
After divorcing his wife, Valerie Bishop, in 2023, Diouf was ordered to pay £670 in monthly child support for their daughter Keyla, as well as school fees and medical bills for the 17-year-old. However, the Bishop claims that Diouf failed to pay up since March 2024 and now owes a sum that’s around £14,000.
El Hadji Diouf Risks Prison Time
The severity of Diouf’s conduct could land him in serious trouble. Laws in Senegal mean that a refusal to pay maintenance can result in a prison sentence under Article 351 of the West African country’s penal code.
Valerie’s lawyer, Mame Adama Gueye, said: “El Hadji Diouf is fully solvent. He has the means to pay, but refuses to do so. He leads a comfortable existence and divides his time between Dakar and Saly Portudal.”