CBF’s statement on Dani Alves and Robinho: “One of the most damaging chapters in Brazilian football”

The recent conviction of former Brazilian footballers Daniel Alves and Robson de Souza, better known as Robinho, found guilty of sexual assault, sparked a reaction from the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) through a statement in which it called the sentences “one of the most damaging chapters in Brazilian football”. After the trial that sentenced Dani Alves last February to four and a half years in prison for sexual assault and rape against a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub, the Brazilian justice system acted against Robinho, convicted several years ago for his participation in a gang rape in Milan. Ednaldo Rodrígues, the CBF said that “the definitive convictions of players Robson de Souza and Daniel Alves put an end to one of the most damaging chapters in Brazilian football.” The two cases, involving players who were stars of the Brazilian National Football Team, one of our country’s greatest cultural icons, cannot end with the conviction of the two culprits,” the statement added. Along these lines, the CBF urged both women and witnesses of such situations to report cases of sexual abuse so that the perpetrators do not go unpunished. “It is essential that the courageous attitude of the victims inspires more and more women not to remain silent in the face of barbarities of this order. More than that: in an environment where machismo prevails, we, men, must be on the front lines to combat not only sexual violence, but all types of violence,” she said. The organization then compared the situation to the acts of discrimination in Spain against Real Madrid footballer Vinicius Jr. “It’s shameful that an athlete feels comfortable committing these kinds of perversities, believing that what he achieved through sport will somehow protect him from any punishment. Just as it is equally shameful that a fan of any nationality feels comfortable insulting Brazilian athletes just because of their race, as we have unfortunately seen in Europe, against the player Vinicius Jr,” he said in the statement. To close the statement, the CBF detailed the actions to be taken to fight against racism, homophobia and violence, including the creation of a working group made up of more than 50 representatives to discuss and build collective solutions to the problem, the holding of a seminar and the proposal of different measures to the main football administrative entities. such as FIFA, CONMEBOL, UEFA and other national federations. The cases of Dani Alves and RobinhoOn January 20, 2023, Dani Alves was arrested after presenting himself at a police station in Barcelona, denounced by a young woman for the crime of sexual assault that occurred in a bowling alley at the end of December 2022. Since then, the former Barcelona right-back has remained in jail in Spain, with contradictions in his statements. In the first instance, he assured that he did not know the young woman who denounced him, but given the amount of evidence that contradicted his statements, the former soccer player acknowledged that he had seen her at the bowling alley, and maintained that he had consensual sexual relations. “If anyone has ever truly loved, if they have known, as I have, true love, they will know that to keep that love, one will do anything. And I lied. I was afraid of losing Joana and that’s why I lied. I fought desperately to save my marriage from infidelity, regardless of the consequences I’m paying,” she explained at the time. After the first sentence of four and a half years in prison, Dani Alves received the benefit of probation for the payment of a bail of one million euros to await the final sentence. For his part, Robinho was arrested last Thursday at his home in the city of Santos for a conviction dating back seven years. In 2017, the former Real Madrid striker was convicted in Italy of a gang rape of a young Albanian woman in a Milan nightclub in 2013, but was kept free due to the Brazilian constitution, which prohibits extradition. Last Wednesday, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice decided that the former soccer player should serve his sentence in a Brazilian prison, so he was arrested and transferred to the Tremembé prison, where the justice system usually sends famous people.

Original source in Spanish