MILAN: Tiemoue Bakayoko, on loan at AC Milan from Premier League club Chelsea, was reportedly involved in a scary traffic stop by Italian police in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity on behalf of the police.
The French midfielder was stopped and searched by Milanese enforcement officers when driving through the Italian city with a friend. The 27-year-old was reportedly held at gunpoint after the police were investigating a gun shooting case. However, police realised that they had caught the wrong person and released Bakayoko with a pat on the back.
The incident in question, which has been confirmed by authorities in Milan, is said to have occurred at the start of July but has only just come to light after Italian sports journalist Tancredi Palmeri uploaded the video on his Twitter handle.
"Shocking footage of Milan's Bakayoko in Milan's downtown held at gunpoint by police cause taken for someone else," Tancredi wrote.
"Check when one of cop goes telling to the colleague searching him that it's not the suspect but a Milan player, and the cop saying "WHO?", he added.
"The search, happened on July 3, was due to gun shooting happened in the area in previous hours, and the two suspected were two men on a suv fitting the description, one of the two was black and with green shirt. That's why the gunpoint," Milan police was quoted as saying by Palmeri.
The incident has generated controversy, with accusations of racism from the Italian police force, but according to Goal.com, the Milan Police Headquarters say the saga involving Bakayoko was a case of mistaken identity.