Djibril Cisse questioned over sex tape plot

Former Liverpool and France striker Djibril Cisse has been released by police following his arrest over a sex tape extortion plot.

Cisse was one of four people held by police over an alleged attempt to blackmail an international footballer. The ex-Sunderland and QPR forward, 34, was questioned because he knew the others involved, police said. French prosecutors said Cisse was not thought to be an instigator of the conspiracy.

An official said the attempted extortion - an offence which carries a minimum five-year sentence - involved video footage of sex that had been recorded on a mobile phone. The alleged victim has not been identified by the authorities "out of respect for their private life", reported Associated Press news agency.

Cisse joined Liverpool from Auxerre for a then club-record fee of £14m in 2004. He scored 24 goals in 79 appearances for the Merseyside club - winning the Champions League and the FA Cup - before leaving in 2007. He then returned to the Premier League with Sunderland in 2008, netting 11 goals during a season-long loan, before signing for QPR in January 2012, for whom he scored 10 goals in an 18-month spell. Cisse, who was released by Ligue 1 side Bastia in the summer, also scored nine times for France in 41 appearances.