A game of two (other) halves! Newcastle footballer Papiss Cisse leaves girlfriend for holiday... and three days later marries Senegalese volleyball player fiancée in Paris
PUBLISHED: 07:26 GMT, 4 June 2015 | UPDATED: 08:07 GMT, 4 June 2015
Newcastle footballer Papiss Cisse has left his on-off girlfriend heartbroken after telling her he was going on holiday only to marry a volleyball player three days later.
Rachelle Graham, 24, a beauty queen and former Miss Newcastle, says last week she kissed and waved off the Senegalese striker, 30, believing he was off to spend a month in his homeland.
But after he failed to return her texts she became worried and went online, finding a picture of her love's wedding to sportswoman Diallo Awa, 29, at a yacht club outside Paris.
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Secret wedding: Papiss Cisse has left his on-off girlfriend heartbroken after she saw these pictures of his marriage to Diallo Awa three days after he said he was going on holiday
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Mystery: Rachelle Graham, a beauty queen and former Miss Newcastle, thought she had a future with the footballer but in fact he was walking down the aisle with an international volleyball player, right
More photos of the smiling couple's wedding in Paris have since surfaced, with friends saying they suspect his religion and family prevented the two from having a future together.
They had broken up last year after trolls abused them because it was a mixed race relationship - but recently they had started seeing each other more regularly again.
Miss Graham told The Sun: 'I'm hurt and disgusted to learn Papiss has got married without me knowing after we spent so much time together recently.
Happy couple: Cisse married the sportswoman at a yacht club in Paris and are believed to be in Senegal
'But it's his life and if this is what he has chosen to do there is nothing much I can do about it. I just wish he had the decency to tell me first.'
Cisse's new wife is a Senegalese volleyball star and model who represents her national team and Stade Francais in Paris, where she lives.
She walked down the aisle in a long white dress while the footballer, who earns £40,000-a-week, wore a navy suit.
After the ceremony there was a lavish reception with cordon bleu catering and three cakes.
But the footballer would not have been drinking because he is a a strict Muslim who prays five times a day.
Their families, members of his new wife's volleyball team and dignitaries from Senegal also flew to France for the wedding last week.
Papiss Cisse would have had plenty of time to plan the wedding because in March he was banned for seven games for his part in the spitting storm that also involved Manchester United defender Jonny Evans.
He was fined a week's wages of around £40,000 by Newcastle, and was banned until May.
In 2013 Cisse, who is one of a number of Muslim players at Newcastle, had refused to wear the club's shirt because it was sponsored by Wonga, as it conflicts with his religious beliefs.
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In trouble: In the run up to the wedding Cisse was banned after spitting at Manchester United defender Jonny Evans
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Sports star: Diallo Awa, second left, celebrates scoring with her teammates during the 2014 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship Qualifiers between Senegal and Seychelles in Nairobi
Under Sharia law, Muslims must not benefit from either lending money or receiving money from another person - meaning that interest is prohibited. Interest is not paid on Islamic bank accounts or added to mortgages.
But later an image emerged on Twitter that claims to show the Senegalese forward gambling in a casino. Eventually he agreed to wear the shirt.
Source: Daily Mail
- Rachelle Graham says she kissed and waved star off on holiday last week
- But he failed to return her texts she went online and found wedding photos
- Beauty queen believed they had a future but he wed Diallo Awa in Paris
- She said: 'I'm disgusted to learn he got married without me knowing'
PUBLISHED: 07:26 GMT, 4 June 2015 | UPDATED: 08:07 GMT, 4 June 2015
Newcastle footballer Papiss Cisse has left his on-off girlfriend heartbroken after telling her he was going on holiday only to marry a volleyball player three days later.
Rachelle Graham, 24, a beauty queen and former Miss Newcastle, says last week she kissed and waved off the Senegalese striker, 30, believing he was off to spend a month in his homeland.
But after he failed to return her texts she became worried and went online, finding a picture of her love's wedding to sportswoman Diallo Awa, 29, at a yacht club outside Paris.
+5
Secret wedding: Papiss Cisse has left his on-off girlfriend heartbroken after she saw these pictures of his marriage to Diallo Awa three days after he said he was going on holiday
+5
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Mystery: Rachelle Graham, a beauty queen and former Miss Newcastle, thought she had a future with the footballer but in fact he was walking down the aisle with an international volleyball player, right
More photos of the smiling couple's wedding in Paris have since surfaced, with friends saying they suspect his religion and family prevented the two from having a future together.
They had broken up last year after trolls abused them because it was a mixed race relationship - but recently they had started seeing each other more regularly again.
Miss Graham told The Sun: 'I'm hurt and disgusted to learn Papiss has got married without me knowing after we spent so much time together recently.
Happy couple: Cisse married the sportswoman at a yacht club in Paris and are believed to be in Senegal
'But it's his life and if this is what he has chosen to do there is nothing much I can do about it. I just wish he had the decency to tell me first.'
Cisse's new wife is a Senegalese volleyball star and model who represents her national team and Stade Francais in Paris, where she lives.
She walked down the aisle in a long white dress while the footballer, who earns £40,000-a-week, wore a navy suit.
After the ceremony there was a lavish reception with cordon bleu catering and three cakes.
But the footballer would not have been drinking because he is a a strict Muslim who prays five times a day.
Their families, members of his new wife's volleyball team and dignitaries from Senegal also flew to France for the wedding last week.
Papiss Cisse would have had plenty of time to plan the wedding because in March he was banned for seven games for his part in the spitting storm that also involved Manchester United defender Jonny Evans.
He was fined a week's wages of around £40,000 by Newcastle, and was banned until May.
In 2013 Cisse, who is one of a number of Muslim players at Newcastle, had refused to wear the club's shirt because it was sponsored by Wonga, as it conflicts with his religious beliefs.
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In trouble: In the run up to the wedding Cisse was banned after spitting at Manchester United defender Jonny Evans
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Sports star: Diallo Awa, second left, celebrates scoring with her teammates during the 2014 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship Qualifiers between Senegal and Seychelles in Nairobi
Under Sharia law, Muslims must not benefit from either lending money or receiving money from another person - meaning that interest is prohibited. Interest is not paid on Islamic bank accounts or added to mortgages.
But later an image emerged on Twitter that claims to show the Senegalese forward gambling in a casino. Eventually he agreed to wear the shirt.
Source: Daily Mail
