The president of French Ligue 1 soccer club Angers was being questioned in custody by police on Wednesday after a female staff member filed a complaint against him, the club said.
Said Chabane faces allegations of sexual assault, regional newspaper Ouest France reported. An Angers club statement made no mention of the nature of complaint but said Chabane strongly rejected the allegations against him.
"(Chabane) is currently in police custody as part of an investigation opened by the Angers prosecutor following a complaint made by an employee at the club," the Angers statement said.
"He will present all the facts necessary to re-establish the truth and preserve his honour," it added.
Officials at the Angers prosecutor's office were not immediately available for comment.
In a separate case, French prosecutors on Tuesday said they had launched an investigation into former figure skating coach Gilles Beyer over the alleged rape of a minor.
Former figure skater Sarah Abitbol, a bronze medallist at the 2000 world championships, alleges Beyer raped her multiple times from 1990 to 1992.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Giles Elgood)
