Police checking reports that Vieira robbed

NICE, France, May 24: Police are investigating reports that France midfielder Patrick Vieira and his family were robbed in their villa on the French Riviera.

The player has filed a complaint, saying intruders seized jewels at his home in Cannes last weekend and drove away with his Mercedes, a police source said today, confirming media reports.

The car was later found abandoned in Nice. Police in Nice and Cannes were working together on the case, the source said.

The burglary occured at night just before Vieira joined France's World Cup training camp in the French Alps resort of Tignes.

According to reports in the French and British media, the intruders used gas to make sure that Vieira, his wife Cheryl and her teenaged daughter would not wake up.

Vieira, 29, joined Juventus last year after nine seasons at Arsenal. He has won 84 caps for France, scoring four goals.

REUTERS