Recent events may have given rise to the impression that England have a monopoly on sex scandals, but a huge story emerging in France this week has proven that emphatically wrong.

Just 50 days before the start of the World Cup finals, Les Bleus have become enveloped in a deep controversy that has reportedly implicated no less than four players, with serving internationals Franck Ribery and Sidney Govou questioned as witnesses in relation to an investigation into under-age prostitution at a Paris nightclub.

A statement on the FFF's official website read: "The French Football Association have learnt about the prostitution scandal which implicates simply as witnesses at this stage some footballers from the France team. In this context the FFF would like to make the following remarks: The FFF would like to highlight their commitment to the principle of the presumption of innocence. The Federation has every confidence in the justice system to carry the investigation through and identify those possibly responsible."

A lawyer for Ribery, who was pulled out of Bayern Munich's pre-match press conference ahead of their game against Lyon on Wednesday, said: "My client was called as a witness, but had no other part to play in this matter. The matter stops there." A statement from Govou's club Lyon added: "The club would like to highlight the comments of his lawyer Thierry Braillard who affirmed that Sidney Govou is not implicated, neither directly nor indirectly, in this affair."

Further reports on Wednesday morning claimed Hatem Ben Arfa and Karim Benzema will also be questioned as witnesses, as well as making more detailed allegations about the scandal. "It's absolutely not me," Marseille playmaker Ben Arfa said when denying involvement in the alleged behaviour, while an agent for Real Madrid striker Benzema said: "Karim has not been questioned. He has nothing to do with this affair."

Denials all round then, but this story shows no sign of disappearing, however much France may want it to. An altogether more serious situation than the frenzied tabloid coverage of the indiscretions that cost John Terry the England captaincy, or the media speculation surrounding Ashley Cole's fidelity, France's preparations will be unavoidably overshadowed by this huge controversy.

ENGLAND'S GOT TALENT

Fabio Capello's impact on the English national team may have been overwhelmingly positive, but the manager may soon have to answer for inflicting a crime against music on the nation as a whole. For the first time since 1966, England are not recording an official World Cup song - reportedly at the behest of Capello - which means there is a sizeable vacuum ready to be exploited by any number of publicity-hungry nobodies. Leading the list is the questionably named DJ Talent, a man who fell by the wayside while Susan Boyle took the globe by storm during Britain's Got Talent last year. Regarding his song 'Just For You England FC', Mr Talent told the Sun: "I sent it to Sony BMG and I'm waiting for them to get back to me. I hope to get Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard in the video, but at the moment it's just talks. I've tried to make it the official England song, but there are a lot of celebrities doing them, including John Barnes and Chico." From 'Back Home', 'World in Motion' and 'Three Lions' to this? Capello, get your coat.

STUCK FOR INSPIRATION

This week, those children not jammed in a four-day queue for an airplane will be indulging in a rite of passage in their school playground, as the weekend witnessed the launch of the official Panini sticker book for the World Cup finals. The strains of "got, got, need" will be heard up and down the country as kids haggle for a Paraguay shiny or the final member of the North Korea squad. Ah, the memories. If the elder readers amongst you are desperate for a bit of sticker-inspired nostalgia though, look no further than this page which showcases the complete sticker collection from Italia '90. Items of note include Chris Waddle's hair, the absence of Golden Boot winner Toto Schillaci from the Italy squad and a particularly youthful Kasey Keller who is sporting one of the greatest mullets known to man.

PLAYER IN FOCUS: HEURELHO GOMES

Once affixed, the unwanted tag of being a 'dodgy 'keeper' is desperately hard to shake, but Gomes has done just that at Tottenham and is now targeting a possible call-up for Brazil. His idiosyncratic style and a string of high-profile errors left his Spurs future in some doubt last season, but Gomes has responded magnificently and last week was imperious in helping his side to record famous wins over Arsenal and Chelsea. Julio Cesar played all 1,620 minutes of World Cup qualifying for the seleção and Roma's Doni is his understudy, but Gomes could sneak in as Dunga's third-choice 'keeper, even if his last cap came back in 2006. "I've been hoping for a call-up for the World Cup for a long time," Gomes says. "I was at the Confederations Cup last year and I'm very confident it's possible if I'm doing things at Tottenham."

WORLD CUP QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Argentina coach Diego Maradona gives a worrying insight into his family life when explaining away the dog bite that resulted in surgery and ten stitches in March. "The dog bite was all my fault. Bella was unwell at the time and I tried to carry her while she was sleeping to her bed. The dog must have been having a nightmare because it attacked me while it was still asleep. I still love the dog because it reminds me of my girls when they were babies."