Top-flight side Vélez Sarsfield have suspended four of its footballers from the first team in the wake of disturbing sexual abuse allegations.
Two Argentines, defender Braian Cufré and striker Abiel Osorio have been sidelined, along with Uruguayan goalkeeper Sebastián Sosa and Paraguayan centre-midfielder José Florentín.
The club moved swiftly to suspend the stars after it emerged on Thursday that a 24-year-old sports journalist in Tucumán had filed a complaint against the four players.
In her complaint, the woman says that she was invited to a hotel by Sosa via Instagram. When she arrived, the other three footballers were already waiting.
She began feeling unwell after consuming drinks with the players and later said that she was sexually abused without her consent.
"After having a few drinks, she began to feel sick, very dizzy, so she lay down on one of the beds as if she was numb, and it was then that, without any consent, she was sexually abused," the document describes.
The complainant has handed over the clothes she wore that night to be examined and has undergone “the necessary examinations,” it continues.
Authorities have initiated investigations, seizing clothing items provided by the victim and extracting footage from hotel security cameras as part of the evidence-gathering process.
The complaint alleges that the incident took place in the early hours of Sunday morning in a hotel in Tucumán's provincial capital, where the Vélez team was lodged after a match.
A lawyer representing the complainant, Patricia Neme, said this week that the journalist’s drink had likely been spiked.
"There is a lot of evidence that is in the investigation stage and anything I say could hinder the investigation," Neme told the TN news channel.
"The one she wrote to was Sebastián Sosa. He was with three others, they drank beer, then Fernet and then she started to feel sick. We calculate that the drink had a substance in it,” said the lawyer.
“She had moments where she realised she was being abused, she tried to get him off [of her] and, in fact, she was hurt and had bruises," she added.
"After this aberrant act, one of the three kept in contact with her because she complained to him [and asked] why they did this to her and he tried to justify the action.
“The conversation was with Sosa, it lasted a few more days, it was to cover up because she was reproaching them for their actions,” said Neme.
She confirmed the charge against the players is ""sexual abuse with carnal access aggravated by the plurality of actors" – a crime punishable by up to 20 years in jail.
The incident allegedly took place at the Hilton Garden Inn in San Miguel de Tucumán. According to the complainant, the incident occurred last Saturday after the match between Vélez and Atlético Tucumán.
Vélez officials said the severity of the allegations prompted them to take immediate action, instituting a club protocol for addressing gender-based violence.
A press release issued by the club said its staff ”remains at the complete disposal of the justice system and the complainant.”
The club’s board assured its full cooperation with the judicial process and the complainant.
In a post on social media, Sosa issued a statement denying the allegations against him.
"I repudiate violence of any kind, I respect the physical and sexual integrity of every person; I trust in justice," the player wrote on his X account.
Vélez President Fabián Berlanga said the matter is in the hands of the justice system.
"We are not asking for explanations – they have to give them to the courts," he said.
This is not the first time Vélez Sarsfield has been embroiled in such controversies.
In 2020, the club had to deal with gender violence and sexual abuse allegations involving its former star midfielder Thiago Almada, who later played for Argentina during their successful Qatar 2022 World Cup campaign, and defender Miguel Brizuela.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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