Rape claim superstar back in team
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the pitch yesterday for the first time since it emerged he had been accused of rape.
The Portuguese striker scored for Juventus in his first game since it was alleged that he raped a woman in a hotel in Las Vegas in 2009.
His main sponsors Nike and EA Sports have expressed “concern” over the allegations, which he strongly denies.
But he has been backed by his Italian club Juventus, despite a drop in its share price. The former World Player of the Year scored the second goal for the Serie A club in their match against Udinese.
Ronaldo, 33, had been suspended for the side’s midweek Champions League match after receiving a red card in the previous game.
The allegations were revealed by a German news magazine. Kathryn Mayorga, a teacher from Nevada, claims the footballer raped her in his penthouse suite after she met him in a nightclub.
She went to police in Las Vegas but did not name or describe her attacker, or give details of the location. Detectives have now reopened the investigation.
It was reported that a year later she received £288,000 in an out-of-court settlement after agreeing never to make her accusation public. But she said she decided to come forward and tell her story because of the #metoo movement.