Sebastián Villa, from the trial for sexist violence to play with Boca Juniors on the same day

Sebastián Villa sat on the bench this Tuesday at noon in a court in Buenos Aires and at night he put on his boots to play with Boca Juniors.

The 26-year-old Colombian soccer player is accused by his ex-partner of having beaten and threatened her when they lived together in April 2020. The trial began this Monday with the testimony of the complainant and, this Tuesday, Villa sat on the bench again for the hearings.

Hours after hearing the witnesses, he met with his teammates, who tonight play for the Copa Libertadores against Deportivo Pereira from Colombia.

While one of his most important soccer players was listening to the trial for the crimes of aggravated injuries due to the bond and coercive threats, which can end in a sentence of six years in prison,

"Whole days went by that I couldn't talk to my mother because of the blows she had on her face," Daniela Cortés, the soccer player's ex-partner, told the Buenos Aires court that heard her through a video call on the first day of the match. judgment.

In May 2020, the model had denounced Villa for beating her and threatening to throw her out of the house they shared in a closed neighborhood on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

According to Cortés's account, the soccer player had started drinking alcohol since they lived in Argentina and had become "more violent every day."

They had arrived in the country together two years earlier, when the footballer signed for Boca Juniors, and the strict isolation due to the pandemic made things worse.

The attack being investigated by the court dates from April 27, 2020, when, according to the victim's account, she had told the soccer player that she did not want to continue the relationship and he punched her.

Daniela Cortés published a video and a photograph on social networks days later in which she showed her bloody face, and the complaint went to the Women's Police Station.

The trial was supposed to start in September last year, but it was postponed until this week.

Cortés testified from Colombia, where she returned to live after the incident, and the soccer player listened to her along with her lawyer from the Lomas de Zamora court, west of Buenos Aires.

It is not the only case open against the footballer for sexist violence.

In May of last year, Villa was accused of rape by another woman, who denounced that he had abused her after a jealous rage.

"Sebastián had ingested a large amount of alcohol and although I was used to seeing him in that state, he began to make me a scene of jealousy because I would have had a meeting with a teammate," Tamara Doldán said in her complaint, speaking of a alleged abuse occurred on June 26, 2021. According to the file, Villa abused her in a room in her house while her personal guardian watched the door.

The footballer was backed by Boca Juniors between the two complaints, so the club's decision to wait for him on Tuesday until the last minute was not a surprise.

Villa had also taken to the field on May 14 of last year, one day after Doldán's rape complaint was made known.

And his case is not the only one in a team that has gotten used to seeing its players accused of sexist violence in recent years.

Most of the accused footballers no longer play for the club, but are still active.

Eduardo Salvio, today in Mexico, was accused last year of running over his ex-wife after an argument;

Cristian Pavón, who now plays in Brazil, was denounced for an alleged abuse in 2019;

Ricardo Centurión, who is now in another team in the Argentine First Division, was accused of physical and verbal violence by his girlfriend in 2017. Frank Fabra, the only one who remains in the team on this list, was accused of participating in a case of mistreatment of two women after a party in 2018 with his then companions, Edwin Cardona and Wilmar Barrios.

Jorge Martínez, coach of the women's team, accused of sexual abuse by a club employee, joined the long list of players two weeks ago.

To Martinez,

Waiting for Villa, who has been absent from training in recent days to attend the trial, also reveals the team's desperation over the poor results it has been chaining for months.

Boca Juniors has lost six of 12 league games this year and, as the team rebuilds under a new coach, is betting on saving its honor in the Copa Libertadores, the South American tournament.

Villa, apparently essential for this resurgence, will start this Tuesday against Deportivo Pereira.

The decision has divided the stands, but the coach and the leadership have already decided: it is essential that the team win, even if it is with the help of a possible abuser.

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