Rape or sex trap? European footballers who have been accused of sexual crime
European based footballers, most of whom rake in millions of dollars in salaries and endorsements each year, have in the recent past been subjected to rape-related accusation in the court of law.
Surprisingly, most, if not all, of these cases have since been dropped.
So are these players actually raping these women or could the women be laying some sort of extortion traps for the famous and moneyed sportsmen?
Here are some examples:
Mason Greenwood – The 21-year-old Manchester United forward was arrested in January 2022 and locked up on suspicion of attempted rape. He was later charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He has since been released after key witnesses withdrew their involvement.
Benjamin Mendy – The French national was arrested and locked up by English Police for months on suspicion of several counts of rape. In all Mendy was indicted 10 times: for eight rapes, one attempted rape and one sexual assault against seven different women between 2018 and 2021. Eight of those counts have since been dropped even as it emerged that most of the acts of romance he committed were consensual. In addition, several of the complainants, particularly those who filed a complaint later, knew each other, either directly or through social media.
Thomas Partey – The Ghanaian international midfielder, who plays for Arsenal in the English Premier League, was accused by a female friend of rape while on holiday. He was briefly interrogated and barred from leaving London as the case was investigated. The complaint was later dropped, but the woman later posted on social media a long thread insisting the player abused her while the two were on holiday, months before he got married.
Cristiano Ronaldo – The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star has also faced rape charges. Kathryn Mayorga alleged that the footballer raped her at a Las Vegas hotel in 2009. He however denied the allegations and has never been charged. Mayorga reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with the star in 2010, but has been seeking millions more than the Sh46,762,500 she received.
Robin Van Persie – The retired Dutch player, formerly a striker at Arsenal and Manchester United, has also been a victim of claims of sexual assault. The gifted forward was arrested on June 14, 2005 after allegations of sexual assault in his homeland, but the case was dismissed in 2006 due to lack of evidence. Van Persie was released after being held for a fortnight before the season began. A statement from Rotterdam’s public prosecutor stated that sexual contact had taken place although no force was involved.