Authorities detained Elsayed, 26, in front of a cafe in the French capital's 13th district at around 5 am after he was accused of "placing a hand on the buttocks of a woman patron", the Paris prosecutor's office said.

A fellow Egyptian with the same name won a bronze medal in epee fencing at the Paris Olympics. It was not immediately clear if the wrestler had since been released. French newspaper Le Parisien said he was "roaring drunk".

Egypt’s Olympic Committee said Elsayed would face a disciplinary hearing. If the allegations were confirmed to be true, he could face sanctions that could go as far as life exclusion from competition, the committee said in a statement.