Three professional footballers in Argentina, who are connected to the alleged rape of a sports journalist in a hotel room, were put under house arrest on Thursday.
A judge has decided that three of the four accused players from the first-division club Velez Sarsfield will be on house arrest for 90 days. The fourth player was let go on bail.
All four players have also been suspended from their team, which ranks third in Argentina’s top league and has Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone among its former players.
The situation came about when a 24-year-old sports journalist claimed she was raped after being invited by Uruguay international Sebastian Sosa to a hotel room in Tucuman, Argentina, on March 3. She stated that the other three accused players were also present.
She mentioned feeling dizzy after having a few drinks, lying down on a bed, and then being raped.
Prosecutor Eugenia Posse aims to bring rape charges against players Braian Cufre and Jose Florentin, while Abiel Osario is accused of sexual abuse. All three were placed under house arrest.
Sosa, who was granted $57,000 bail and prohibited from leaving the country for 90 days, is facing charges as a secondary participant.
The prosecution had requested that all four men be put in pre-trial detention to avoid interference in the investigation.
The players, who all gave testimony during the hearing, may receive prison sentences ranging from four to 20 years.
The football club Velez Sarsfield, based in Buenos Aires, has stated that it has suspended the four players and initiated an internal investigation.
The club conveyed its great concern about the reported events, which clearly go against the principles and values of the institution, in a statement issued on Monday.
The hearing took place in the same week that a Spanish court released former Brazil international Dani Alves on bail of a million euros pending an appeal against his conviction for raping a woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
Meanwhile, in Brazil, the former Manchester City and Real Madrid player Robinho is attempting to postpone the beginning of his nine-year prison term for participating in the 2013 gang rape of a woman at a Milan nightclub.
