FORMER Liverpool star El Hadji Diouf is facing a jail sentence amid claims that he abandoned his family.
He has been accused by his ex-wife of not paying her £14,000 in child maintenance fees.
Retired striker Diouf, 44, failed to appear at a court hearing on Tuesday in Senegal’s capital Dakar.
After his divorce from Valerie Bishop in 2023, Diouf was ordered to pay her £670 monthly child support for their daughter Keyla, 17, as well as school fees and medical bills.
However, she claims Diouf has failed to pay up since March last year and now owes her around £14,000.
Tough Senegal laws mean a refusal to pay maintenance can result in prison sentences under Article 351 of the West African country’s penal code.
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Valerie’s lawyer Mame Adama Gueye said: “El Hadji Diouf is fully solvent.
“He has the means to pay, but refuses to do so.
“He leads a comfortable existence and divides his time between Dakar and Saly Portudal.”
Diouf is due back in the high court in Dakar on December 5.
Liverpool bought Diouf for £10million from French club Lens after he starred at the 2002 World Cup.
But he scored just six goals in 80 games across three seasons, winning the League Cup in 2003.
He left for Bolton in 2005 and went on to play for Sunderland, Blackburn, Rangers, Doncaster and Leeds, before ending his career in Malaysia.
During his time in the Premier League, he was involved in several spitting incidents.
