William Carvalho, 2016 European champion with Portugal and midfielder for Betis Sevilla, was heard this Tuesday, February 6 as part of an investigation for “sexual assault”, according to a press release from the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA ).
The Portuguese international “was heard” by a magistrate, but left free at the end of his hearing, indicated the TSJA, specifying that the investigation, which resulted in the player being indicted, was continuing.
According to the court, the hearing lasted less than half an hour.
It follows a complaint filed by a woman who accuses him of “sexual assault”, a criminal category which, in Spain, includes rape.
According to local media, which cite sources close to the case, William Carvalho denies the facts with which he is accused, ensuring that he had consensual sexual relations with the complainant.
According to Spanish newspapers, these facts occurred in August, when Carvalho invited the complainant to come visit him in Seville, in the south of Spain.
Also read: Dani Alves accused of rape: start of a high-voltage trial in Barcelona
According to the sports daily Marca, which cites the complaint, the complainant had dinner with the player, then accompanied him to a nightclub, before waking up the next day "with obvious signs of violence on her body and without remembering exactly what had happened.”
Spanish football is currently facing a series of court cases in which players are accused of rape.
The best known is former Brazilian international Dani Alves, tried this week in Barcelona for the alleged rape of a young woman in a nightclub in that city in December 2022. He faces nine years in prison.