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Two months before the World Cup starts, the French football team is hit with sex scandal issues involving several of its players and minor prostitutes.

There has been a build-up of outrage over the past week regarding reports that three players are being investigated by the police regarding the scandal. There are concerns that these players will be dropped from the World Cup squad. The actual announcement of names will be in May.

Karim Benzema, 22; Sidney Govou, 30; and Franck Ribéry, 27, are the three players accused of having paid for sex with an under-age prostitute. However, charges have yet to be filed against them. The scandal involves Zahia Dehar, an 18-year-old prostitute who said she had relations with two of the involved players when she was still a minor.

As with the case of NFL’s Ben Roethlisberger, who allegedly sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman but was not charged, fans questioned whether he is too comprised to play for the team.

Dehar said during the investigation that she had revealed her real age when she met the players – she was still 16 when she had sex with Benzema and 17 when she had a relationship with Ribéry. Govou’s part in the scandal in unclear, but the prostitute said she was 18 when they met.

Prostitution is legal in France; however, soliciting is not. Clients can be sentenced to three years of imprisonment and fined up to $60,300 for soliciting sex with a minor prostitute.

Although the players have denied any wrongdoing, it still leaves a mark in the reputation of the team.

The French football team’s reputation came under scrutiny on Sunday as two of its players appeared to have been questioned by authorities in connection with a probe on a prostitution ring.

One of the footballers is said to have had sexual encounters with a prostitute aged below 18 – an offence that has a maximum prison term of three years.

A third player is also likely to be called for questioning by Paris police, reported France’s sporting daily, l’Equipe.

A judicial source has confirmed the reports; however, he refused to reveal the players’ identities.

According to the source, a player had confessed having sexual relations with a prostitute but said that he didn’t known she was under 18.

The probe was initiated by investigating magistrate Judge Yves Dando after allegations that a nightclub in Paris – which is often visited by international football players – employed prostitutes.

L’Equipe reported that the French footballers were not likely to be charged in relation to the case even though the fallout may be “costly”. They may possibly face divorce proceedings as well as a loss of sponsorship, it said.

“An investigation is underway. At the moment it is not possible to make a comment”, said French Football Federation President Jean-Pierre Escalettes.

The controversy will cause new dents to the reputation of France’s football team, especially after a series of poor field play and some other issues regarding its qualification for the World Cup.

France secured the draw that it needed against the Republic of Ireland to qualify for the World Cup this summer in South Africa.

Raymond Domenech, coach of the French football team, has warned about ‘shooting’ players who can’t put their egos aside for their team’s sake at the 2010 World Cup.

“The lesson is that they must be intelligent and leave their egos behind and think that it is the team that counts, not them”, he said to L’Equipe newspaper. “If they haven’t understood that, I’ll shoot! The final list must be unveiled on June 1″.

He also warned that any player in his provisional team, to be announced on 11 May, who showed a bad attitude prior to the tournament could be jettisoned.

“It’s possible”, Domenech admitted. “The real problem, once again, is that everyone leaves their ego behind. I’ve already told them, I can say it again, insist on it”.

France will be playing warm-up games with Costa Rica on 26 May, in Tunisia after four days, and against China on 4 June before the trip to South Africa.

Their matches in the Group A will start with Uruguay at Cape Town on 11 June. After six days, they will face Mexico at Polokwane, and then the hosts South Africa at Bloemfontein on 22 June.

The French coach said his aim now was to put the team in shape so that they could “perform the best possible on June and go through until July 11″, which is the date of the finals in the World Cup.

He added that he will do what it takes to win, but his team must be persuaded to perform well in the matches.