Eto'o friend on trial
The trial of a friend of Barcelona's Cameroonian international Samuel Eto'o, who is accused of sexually abusing the striker's six-year-old son, is expected to wrap up on Friday.
Public prosecutors have asked that the man, identified as an "intimate friend" of the 27-year-old player, be slapped with a six-year jail term and a fine of 60,000 euros (80,000 dollars).
The trial got under way on Thursday and the Barcelona court is expected to issue its ruling "over the coming days", a court spokeswoman told AFP.
The sexual abuse is alleged to have taken in 2006 when the man would look after the boy on the weekends that Eto'o had custody of his son but was busy with matches or training sessions.
According to prosecutors, the accused "took advantage of his closeness to the minor to fondle his genitals in order to satisfy his lecherous desires".
The boy's mother filed a complaint with police after he told her about the abuse in August 2006, when the boy was about four, prosecutors said.
Eto'o, a three-time African Player of the Year, testified in court on Thursday.
According to daily newspaper El Mundo, the presiding judge was surprised by the player's attitude as he "appeared to defend the accused".
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