Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey was allegedy at the heart of a chilling blackmail scandal and his friend was involved in a near-fatal shooting
Sunderland star Brian Brobbey was a victim in an alleged blackmail scandal during his time at Ajax.
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Sunderland star Brian Brobbey was the alleged victim in a chilling blackmail and extortion plot dating back to 2022, with a close friend suffering from a near-fatal shooting. The Athletic and Het Parool have released an extensive report, stating the Black Cats star is completely innocent of any wrongdoing but was caught up in a case involving a notorious gangster.
The case only became public three months before his move to the Stadium of Light, when Brobbey's name was mentioned in a court hearing.
It is alleged that Brobbey was attending a music festival in his home city of Amsterdam, having returned to his boyhood club from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig five months earlier. The then Ajax striker was approached by a man the Dutch court called Jeymon A, who asked the footballer to walk to a location where the two could talk.
The pair allegedly knew each other by sight, having grown up in Zuidoost, a suburb in eastern Amsterdam, though Brobbey knew nothing about the man.
Jeymon A allegedly told the Dutch striker that Moroccan criminals in the Dutch city of Utrecht, 50km south-east of Amsterdam, were looking for him, but that he had solved the problem. Jeymon A then said Brobbey should compensate him for handling the issue.
However, Brobbey said he rarely visited Utrecht and knew no Moroccans who lived there, and the encounter ended there. The footballer then told a childhood friend about Jeymon A's story and supplied his friend with a photograph of the man.
It's said that Brobbey was accustomed to being approached by strangers, given his career as a professional footballer, and hoped the issue would 'blow over.' However, in January 2023 fireworks were posted through the letterbox of Brobbey’s mother-in-law’s house in Zuidoost.
Two months later, in March, an explosive was thrown at the footballer's car when it was parked in Zuidoost. On March 19, Brobbey missed Ajax's 3-2 defeat to Feyenoord in a result that proved key in the Eredivisie title race. Police originally thought the attack on Brobbey's car was related to Feyenoord hooligans, only to later link it to the alleged extortion case.
Brian Brobbey of Ajax looks on
Brian Brobbey of Ajax looks on (Image: 2024 Visionhaus)
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A month later, in April 2023, Brobbey's sister-in-law's car was set on fire. Three months later, Brobbey and his two brothers were reportedly playing padel with the childhood friend he originally disclosed Jeymon A's proposition with, and arranged to meet the local criminal, who also went by the name 'Piccalo.'
After arranging the meeting over Snapchat, Jeymon A showed Brobbey's friend something on his phone before brandishing a firearm. The court report says witnesses saw Jeymon A shoot Brobbey's friend three times as he tried to flee, with a bullet hitting him in the buttock and piercing his small intestine.
The friend was able to drive to a local police station, where he was then transported to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery to save his life. Police found Brobbey's friend's blood-soaked clothes, and though he did not tell authorities about the attack, a tip-off made to the Dutch Criminal Intelligence Team identified Jeymon A as the shooter.
The police were able to identify that he had been in the vicinity at the time of the attack, through listening devices, and as the police tried to work out who was involved in the incident, Brobbey’s childhood friend sent a message to an associate saying that he "took a bullet for him (Brobbey)."
Several other conversations took place relating to a Glock pistol, the type of gun used to shoot Brobbey's friend, along with a claim from the friend's mother, which was obtained by a wiretap, claiming the incident was to increase pressure on Brobbey.
Brian Brobbey
Brian Brobbey(Image: Getty)
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The striker received a text message in the days that would follow, claiming it was now known that he was living in Amstelveen, to the south of Amsterdam and the Ajax star was ordered to pay €150,000 (£130,000) by the end of the month with the message reading, "we’re going to do it differently."
The report makes clear there is no evidence that Brobbey paid the money and his friend's shooting was the last violent incident connected to the now Sunderland striker.
Jeymon A was arrested for unrelated relating to drug dealing, sentenced to nine years in prison in September 2024, then two months later had a futher ten years added to his sentence for "the attempted manslaughter of Brobbey’s friend, as well as possession of a firearm and possession of more than 1.6 kilograms (3.5lb) of MDMA, an illegal psychoactive drug, he had stored in a bag in his gas-meter cupboard." He was never charged with the alleged extortion of Brobbey.
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Ajax reportedly became aware of the alleged extortion after the shooting in July 2023 and brought in detectives to speak with Brobbey, but the striker did not want to disclose the incidents to the police after speaking with his family over fears that things may get worse.
Nevertheless, detectives who were investigating the shooting met Brobbey at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport after returning his Ajax teammates from a 1-1 draw with AEK Athens in the Europa League in October 2023. Detectives reportedly confiscated his phone, and Brobbey was left angry that details of his talks with the two detectives at Ajax had been shared.
However, the report claims the officers who spoke to the Dutch international insist that it was not the case. The meeting between Brobbey and the police did not reach high-ranking Ajax officials, with middle-ranking executives believing the matter had been resolved.
Brian Brobbey of Sunderland
Brian Brobbey of Sunderland(Image: SmartFrame/Every Second Media)
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There was little said about the alleged extortion and the shooting inside the Dutch club, according to Het Parool, which kept Brobbey's name out of reports at the request of his lawyer.
The Dutch media outlet did eventually name the player, having heard the extortion related to Brobbey mentioned as a motive for the shooting, but not until the summer of 2025, once the season had finished.
They claim their decision to name the player was based on the "case raises fundamental questions and warrants a comprehensive reconstruction," while also asking whether Ajax should have done more to help the player.
Brobbey was asked to contribute to the article, but his lawyer, Leon van Kleef, revealed that the footballer did "not wish to cooperate with this publication in any way."
Meanwhile, on behalf of Jeymon A, lawyer Veerle Hammerstein said: "As Het Parool knows, my client was convicted of a shooting incident in 2023 and two other facts, which are not related to this incident. An appeal has been lodged against this ruling, but a substantive hearing has not yet been scheduled.
"Although the blackmail of Brian Brobbey is mentioned in the file as a possible reason for this shooting incident, further investigation by the police has not yielded any evidence that my client was involved. He was never prosecuted for this type of extortion practice."
Chronicle Live has contacted Sunderland to see whether they were aware of the allegations and what they're doing to support Brobbey in relation to the incident.