Nice defender Souleymane Diawara released on bail

Paris: Nice defender Souleymane Diawara, held in custody for two-and-a-half months in relation to an extortion investigation, was released on bail on Friday by a court in Digne.

The four other people implicated in the case, including Diawara`s brother, Adama, were also freed.

Diawara was arrested on April 10 on suspicion of trying to take the law into his own hands in March by attempting to recover 49,800 euros ($55,800) from a car dealer who had allegedly sold him a stolen Porsche.

Police sources say Diawara, a 36-year-old former French title winner with Bordeaux and Marseille, bought the Porsche Cayenne for 49,800 euros in cash in 2013.

However, when discovering it was stolen, he and the four others visited the seller`s home in the middle of the night on March 19 to attempt to get the money back.

The accused insist no weapons were used and nobody was hurt in the altercation.

An appeal court in the French city of Aix-en-Provence twice rejected a request by the defendants to be released,

Diawara`s lawyer, Eric Dupond-Moretti, has described the situation as "unacceptable", saying that his client has no place in prison and is not a flight risk.