French police detained a total of four current and former Marseille execs on Tuesday "as part of an investigation into the 2010 transfer of France international Andre-Pierre Gignac to Marseille," according to the AP. Marseille President Vincent Labrune "was taken into custody." Dir General Philippe Perez, "and two former club presidents -- Jean-Claude Dassier and Pape Diouf -- were also arrested." Judicial officials "are trying to find out whether the club leaders took illicit commissions when Gignac signed from Toulouse" for a reported €16M ($20M). Dassier "was the president at the time, with Labrune in charge of all financial operations" (AP, 11/18). Marseille released a statement about the ongoing investigations on its website Tuesday, stating Labrune and Perez responded Tuesday to questions raised by investigators. The statement continued, "The hearings are part of an investigation that started nearly two years ago related to the conditions around previous transfers of players. Since the initiation of this investigation, the club and its leaders have continued to collaborate with the justice system and contribute to the disclosure of the truth. The shareholder of the club, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, has reiterated her determination that Marseille be managed in accordance with professional and ethical standards and expressed full confidence in the current team leaders as well as in the French judicial system" (Marseille).
