Top flight football player facing prison over manslaughter charge

He was charged over an alleged incident that occurred last month.

The Ivorian player represents Romanian Super Liga outfit Rapid Bucharest, based in the Romanian capital city.

The 25-year-old was reportedly arrested last month after his car allegedly struck an elderly woman, in an incident said to have taken place in Bucharest.

The alleged incident is reported to have taken place around 5.45am as the player returned home from a Ramadan prayer service.

Keita is alleged to have struck the individual at a pedestrian crossing within the Sector 2 district of Bucharest.

The footballer is said to have turned up to Rapid București training as normal in the hours following the alleged incident, without first notifying police, and was later arrested.

Following arrest, the footballer is said to have been initially charged with causing grievous bodily harm (GBH), as well as with failing to report an accident.

Per reports, the 68-year-old woman allegedly struck by Keita's vehicle died in a Bucharest hospital on Tuesday, causing the charge of GBH to be upgraded to one of manslaughter.

Under the country's laws, manslaughter and the offence of failing to report the accident each carry potential jail terms of up to seven years.

If he is found guilty and subsequently handed down the maximum possible sentence during his eventual trial, Keita would face nine years and four months in jail, per the Sun's report.

This would amount to serving the full seven-year sentence for one of the alleged offences as well as one-third of the second seven-year term.

Throughout his career, Keita has also represented Ajaccio and Lille, Belgians Westerlo, Swiss outfit Sion and Turks Sivasspor.

He also appeared for his country Ivory Coast at the 2024 Olympic Games.