News desk
\nRIO DE JANEIRO
\nStar striker Neymar has been accused of raping a unnamed woman at a hotel in Paris, Brazilian media reports said Saturday, charges that\u00a0the Brazil player has denied and his father slammed as attempted blackmail.
\nAccording to a complaint filed with Sao Paolo police and reported by the UOL and GloboEsporte websites, the Paris Saint-Germain star is accused of \u201cusing violence to have sex with the victim without her consent\u201d.
\nThe rape accusation \u2014 the sports star drunkenly assaulted her at an up-market hotel in the French capital \u2014 was outlined in a police report seen by Reuters. Sao Paulo\u2019s security secretariat, however, would not provide a copy of the complaint to AFP, confirming only that one had been filed but saying its contents were classified.
\nThe unidentified woman, who lives in Brazil, allegedly met Neymar through Instagram, and after exchanging messages, the footballer invited her to visit him in Paris in mid-May.
\nAccording to the complaint, Neymar arrived at the hotel \u201capparently intoxicated,\u201d and the two chatted and exchanged \u201ccaresses.\u201d But then \u201che became aggressive and used violence to have sex with the victim without her consent,\u201d the document said.
\n\u2018Would never do a thing like that\u2019
\nThe accusation represents a fresh blow for the Brazilian, who has seen his international reputation suffer amid incidents of indiscipline.
\nHe later posted a long video on his Instagram page, in which he denied all the accusations against him, claimed to be a victim of extortion, lamented the pain caused to him and his family, and shared WhatsApp messages with the alleged victim, including racy photos she sent him.
\n\u201cI\u2019m being accused of rape,\u201d he says in the video. \u201cWhoever knows me, knows of my character and my nature, and knows that I would never do a thing like that … What happened is exactly the opposite of what they\u2019re saying.\u201d
\nNeymar\u2019s father, who is also his agent, categorically denied the accusations in an interview with Brazilian broadcaster Bandeirantes.
\n\u2018This was a trap,\u2019 says Neymar\u2019s father
\n\u201cThis is not true, he has never committed any crime,\u201d said Neymar Santos, arguing that his son was a victim of blackmail. \u201cWe have all the evidence and we already gave everything to the lawyers.\u201d
\nAccording to Neymar Santos, his son and the woman went on a date but the player did not want to see her again. Since then, the woman has tried to extort money from the player and his family, he said.
\n\u201cMy son can be accused of many things, but I know what kind of man he is … it\u2019s clear that this was a trap,\u201d he said, adding that the family was prepared to release WhatsApp messages that would exonerate Neymar.
\nAccording to the media reports, the accuser was in Paris from May 15 to 17 but waited until last Friday to file the complaint in Brazil because she was \u201cemotionally shaken\u201d.
\nNeymar, 27, is currently in Brazil preparing for the Copa America, which takes place in the country from June 14 to July 7.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News desk RIO DE JANEIRO Star striker Neymar has been accused of raping a unnamed woman at a hotel in Paris, Brazilian media reports said Saturday, charges that\u00a0the Brazil player has denied and his father slammed as attempted blackmail. According to a complaint filed with Sao Paolo police and reported by the UOL and GloboEsporte […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n