Mouth in a labyrinth: what can the club do with Sebastián Villa after his conviction for gender violence?

From being "the best player in Argentine football", according to the view of Juan Román Riquelme, to becoming "an asset" very difficult to sell. Today, Sebastián Villa stopped being that unbalancing striker who was in the plans of Brugge to play the Champions League and went on to become a player who was closed the doors even in Deportes Tolima, owner of 30% of his pass. In Colombia, the pass book will open on July 7, but the difficult judicial situation is a problem for coffee growers.

No one knows if Villa will be able to continue his career. Boca appealed to the "moral" aspect and the sentence of two years and one month for gender violence pushed him to take a drastic measure. To make matters worse, this Monday Javier Maffucci Moore, judge of Guarantees of Lomas de Zamora, rejected the request for dismissal in another case for rape, which will be raised to oral trial and, in the case of being found guilty, could lead to an effective prison sentence for the Colombian.

In Boca they acknowledged that the club's lawyers told the leaders that "everything was going to be fine", which is why they did not move forward when the proposal of the Belgian club arrived, which offered 6,500,000 euros. At that time, the Football Council prioritized the strictly sporting aspect. And since the cause had not advanced, they remained calm. Also, when the agreement between Villa and Daniela Cortés was known, which ended with the civil lawsuit. However, in cases of gender-based violence there is no mediation possible. Evidence convicted the 27-year-old attacker.

Villa passed through the Ezeiza Training Center on Saturday and said goodbye to his teammates. According to what he told some of them, he plans to travel to Colombia with Rodrigo Riep, his representative. According to current legislation, as the conviction is not final, the player has no impediment to leave the country.

"We have to do something and soon," they say in the corridors of the Bombonera, where Villa played against Tigre. His last game was on Thursday against Arsenal in Sarandí. The next day, he was convicted. And what followed was an "exemplary sanction" from Boca, as demanded by many fans and the club's Gender Department.

Sebastián Villa with his lawyer Martín Apolo.

Of course, Boca will not prevent his presence in training, since the player can argue employment discrimination. It's not Villa's search, it's clear. His desire is to continue playing, something that seems difficult because of his judicial situation. A loan could be an alternative. In short, the idea is to lose as little money as possible. The Colombian has an important salary that the Xeneize treasury has to continue facing, despite the fact that Jorge Almirón cannot use it.

In that sense, precisely, this Tuesday Boca will face Colo Colo for the Copa Libertadores and his replacement will be Luca Langoni. The 21-year-old was inactive for 48 days until he returned to Tigre. That night, he came on in the 26th minute of the second half for Luis Advíncula. Against Arsenal, on Thursday in Sarandí, he also came off the bench in place of Dario Benedetto. With 52 minutes completed, Almirón decided to start and share the attacking duo with Pipa.

Villa is already history in Boca. He has a contract until 2024. Rescinding it will have its cost. In the club they prefer to pay the economic and not the political, the one that would mean having supported the player in the club, even with his sentence in tow.