A Premier League footballer was questioned on November 7, accused of allegedly raping three women and sexually assaulting a fourth, while a fifth person reported controlling behavior by the player.
As published by the BBC, an English Premier League footballer was questioned again by the police, who continue to investigate three cases of alleged rape and another of sexual assault between 2021 and 2023. However, the player, whose name is unknown name or the club he belongs to, he continues playing.
The British network reported that the player attended interrogation at a police station last Thursday, November 7, and was questioned, marking the first time that he was questioned about an accusation of rape reported last year by a fourth woman.
The footballer was arrested for the first time on suspicion of rape in July 2022, following a complaint from a woman, and was arrested again shortly after for a previous complaint of rape by a second woman, who reported him in August 2021. And the athlete returned to the police station for another interrogation in February 2023, after a third woman reported him for alleged sexual assault. The player has denied all the facts.
In testimonies collected by the BBC, one of the women confessed that she thought about taking her own life when she saw the inaction of the club, the Premier League and the English Football Federation (FA). “I didn’t want to live in a world where I’m constantly reminded that rape allegations can be ignored as long as you’re talented enough,” she explained.
“This investigation, my only chance to get justice, has exhausted me physically and mentally, the longer this investigation goes on, the more my trust in the system fades,” another woman who first denounced the footballer in August told the BBC. of 2021 and is still awaiting the result of the police investigation.
The victims told the BBC last November that the club, the FA and the Premier League prioritize commercial interests over the safety of women. The BBC investigation even found that 7 of the 20 Premier League clubs have had players or employees investigated by police for sexual offenses since 2020.
Furthermore, as reported by the British network, one of the complainants wrote “desperately” to the club, the Premier and the FA, but they showed no support or help. The team told him he couldn’t talk about his accusations for legal reasons; the competition referred it to the FA; and it assured him by email that it could not take “any measure” as it was not contemplated in its regulations.
The FA argued that there was “no evidence” to suggest the player “posed a risk of harm to children or adults in danger.” “They were hiding behind their lack of policies, knowing that the rules they had established were intended to protect profits, not victims,” the woman said.