Manchester United today finally released a statement on the allegations regarding their Brazilian forward Antony.
Following such a delay in taking a position on the matter, the club turned up with a short note which didn’t really say anything.
One reason Manchester United are hesitant to say much about the situation, could be related to what is reported by Metrópoles today.
According their article, Gabriela Cavallin accuses the club of hiding Antony’s crimes.
There’s a specific situation related to that. That was an event which took place in a room of the Hyatt Recenty Manchester Hotel, on the 15th of January, when the player allegedly: “Head-butted his then-girlfriend, causing a cut on Gabriela’s scalp. Then, according to the player’s ex, Antony grabbed her aggressively and threw her hard onto the bed, falling on top of her. The action allegedly caused a silicone prosthesis to become dislodged in Gabriela’s breast, which later required reconstructive surgery.”
Cavallin claims that following this alleged aggression, a Manchester United employee was called for help. That’s Daniele Bertoli, who, according to her lawyers, is someone at the club whose job it is to provide support to their players.
It’s claimed he’s the one who called a doctor, and according to Metrópoles, Cavallin’s lawyers believe that was “with the deliberate intention of hushing up what had happened, and not allowing Gabriela to seek medical help at a hospital or clinic, where she would probably be questioned about what had happened or who had assaulted her”.
Lawyer Daniel Bialski reportedly believes Antony used Manchester United to try to ‘hide the crime’, and the São Paulo Civil Police were asked to question the club about Daniele Bertoli’s role and the assistance they gave the player. The hotel’s camera footage was also requested by the legal team.
That information is not new and had already come out in early June, when the accusations were made public. At that time, ESPN reported that Cavallin said the two doctors who helped her both worked for Manchester United as well.
Those allegations against the club hadn’t been picked up by the English media at the time, but with the victim now in touch with the Greater Manchester Police, the situation has changed, and Manchester United find themselves in a difficult situation.
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