A friend of Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse has insisted that he was not in a relationship with a former Miss Newcastle before travelling to France to marry another woman.

Rachelle Graham said that she was "hurt and disgusted" after discovering through social media that the Senegal international had married volleyball player Diallo Awa during a recent trip to Paris.

However, a friend of the striker told The Mirror: "Rachelle is not his girlfriend and they have not been in a proper relationship for a long time. They were not a couple, and that is why he did not tell her he was getting married."

Cisse and Graham were targeted by a group protesting against mixed-race couples during their relationship.