Brazilian footballer Neymar has denied claims he raped a woman after a Brazilian police document reportedly revealed an unidentified woman had put in a report last month.
Neymar used Instagram yesterday to publish a seven-minute video that includes WhatsApp messages he says he exchanged with the accuser in a ‘friendly way’ days later. He calls the incident ‘a set-up’ and insists it is an attempt of extortion against him. The document says the incident took place on May 15, at 8.20pm in a hotel in Paris. The woman went to police on Friday in Sao Paulo.
Sao Paulo state’s Public Security Secretariat, which oversees police, confirmed in a statement that the complaint was registered, but did not offer details. Earlier, the player’s father and agent, Neymar da Silva Santos, said his son had consensual sexual relations with the accuser and was blackmailed by her lawyer after they broke up.
He told TV Band: ‘This is a tough moment. If we can’t show the truth quickly, it will be a snowball. ‘If we have to show Neymar’s WhatsApp messages and the conversations with this lady, we will.’ Neymar’s father said he has evidence that his son was blackmailed, including pictures and witnesses, but did not show either in the interview. He also said his son is already preparing his defence for a legal case if needed.
The Paris police and the city’s prosecutors’ office said through spokesmen that they were unaware of any complaint. The woman says she and the Brazil star met in France after exchanging Instagram messages. She said to police that they ‘touched each other’ however claims that Neymar ‘became aggressive and, with violence, had sexual intercourse against the victim’s will’. She later told police she left the city two days later and said she did not file her complaint in Paris because she was shaken. Neymar is in Brazil preparing for the Copa America starting next week. He arrived at the Granja Comary training ground outside Rio de Janeiro 10 days after the alleged incident. Brazil players had a day off Saturday. Neymar left the training ground with other team-mates in his helicopter earlier in the day.
On Sunday, an event named after the player is expected to take place in Rio, but his presence is not assured. The 27-year-old Brazilian has had problems on and off the pitch.  One week before the accusation of rape became known, he lost Brazil’s national team’s captaincy for the Copa America to veteran Dani Alves. Coach Tite did not lay out the reasons for the move, but he was under pressure to punish Neymar for his disciplinary problems at Paris St Germain. After PSG lost the French Cup final to Rennes on April 27, Neymar had an altercation with a fan and publicly criticised team-mates he did not name for not listening to him enough. That was one of his first matches since January, when he once more picked up a fifth metatarsal injury in his right-foot. Brazil’s fitness coaches say he will be in better shape once the South American tournament begins.
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