Ex-Lions defender files motion to play in Mexico
Jonathan Suárez, arrested with brother on sexual battery charges and released by Orlando City, wants to play for Club Tijuana.
Former Orlando City defender Jonathan Suárez filed a motion Monday requesting permission to travel to Mexico and play for Club Tijuana in Liga MX.
Suárez and his brother Rafael were arrested by deputy sheriffs in Osceola County Feb. 23 on charges of alleged sexual battery. An arrest affidavit accused the men of raping a woman at their Kissimmee apartment Feb. 21, two weeks after Suárez first arrived in Orlando for the 2021 MLS season. Both men pled innocent. The current terms of Suárez’s bond release require him to remain in Orange and Osceola counties. The motion requests the judge to alter these requirements, allowing Suárez to play in the Mexico’s upcoming Liga MX season.
Orlando City signed Suárez Feb. 3 on a one-year loan from Club Tijuana. After the Lions terminated his contract Feb. 28 following his arrest, he remained under contract with Club Tijuana.
The motion says Club Tijuana directed Suárez return to Mexico
to rejoin the team. If the defender doesn’t return to Mexico, the club will terminate his contract.
In the motion, Suárez’s lawyer said the defender “is not a flight risk” and having his contract — and therefore his pay — terminated would cause “substantial hardship” to Suarez and his family.
Club Tijuana is currently playing in the Clausura, the second tournament of the 2020-21 Liga MX season.
The motion also says Suarez previously requested to return to Mexico and a hearing was held March 3. The court ordered him to remain in Orange and Osceola counties at the time but said he could request permission to travel in the future.
The defender was born in Anaheim, Calif., and signed his first professional contract in Argentina at the age of 18. He previously played for Cimarrones de Sonora, Querétaro FC and Pumas UNAM in the top two Mexican leagues.
To support the statement that Suarez is not a flight risk, the motion says his mother and siblings all are U.S. citizens and reside in the United States, and Suarez “has expressed his desire to defend himself against these charges.”