Claude Makelele cleared of assault of former girlfriend

Former Real Madrid and Chelsea star Claude Makelele was cleared by a French court on Thursday of assaulting his British ex-girlfriend.

Thandi Ojeer, an events organiser who had a two-year relationship with the midfielder, had accused him of punching her in the face during a dispute at the home they once shared in the Paris suburbs.

A state prosecutor had asked for the former France international to be given a five-month suspended prison sentence while Ojeer had claimed 90,000 euros in damages.

A judge on Thursday dismissed Ojeer's case and ordered her to pay 2,000 euros for bringing an unjustified compensation claim to court.

Ojeer had alleged that Makelele, 39, had assaulted her in October 2010 when she returned to their flat to collect clothes and other belongings, several months after the former player had abruptly ended their relationship.

Makelele's lawyer confirmed during a trial in June that there had been an altercation but said his client had used legitimate force to defend himself.

Neither Makelele, now the assistant coach at top French club Paris Saint-German, nor Ojeer, 37, were in court for the verdict.

Makelele ended his relationship with Ojeer shortly after his previous partner Noemie Lenoir attempted to commit suicide by ingesting a large quantity of prescription drugs and alcohol.

Lenoir, a well-known lingerie model with whom Makelele has a child, was found unconscious in woods near the footballer's home at La Celle-Saint-Cloud in the upmarket western suburbs of Paris in May 2010.

Ojeer's initial complaint to police resulted in Makelele receiving a caution in January 2011.

That could have been the end of the matter but Ojeer triggered the June trial by personally indicting her former boyfriend in court.

Makelele was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo but moved at the age of four to France, for whom he won 71 caps.

He is regarded as one of the finest midfielders of his generation, to the extent that the defensive or holding position in midfield is now widely referred to as "the Makelele role".

In a 21-year career he played for Brest, Nantes and Marseille in France before moving to Spain, where he played for Celta Vigo and Real Madrid, with whom he won the 2001 Champions League.

That was followed by a five-year spell with Chelsea from 2003-08 in which he won two Premier League titles.

He then moved to PSG where he ended his playing career last year.