German former professional footballer Christoph Metzelder went on trial Thursday accused of sharing child pornography with women online in a case that stunned the sport.
The former Germany and Real Madrid defender, 40, is in the dock at a district court in the western city of Duesseldorf accused of possessing and distributing illicit images of minors.
Prosecutors say the 2002 World Cup finalist passed on 29 pornographic files to three women via WhatsApp.
According to the case against him, 297 files with sexual content featuring children or teens were found on Metzelder’s mobile phone.