A scandal has emerged in Argentina. A complaint over alleged aggravated sexual abuse was filed before the Argentine justice system against footballer Gonzalo Montiel, scorer of the winning penalty in the 2022 World Cup final shootout against France, according to the victim's lawyer on Thursday.
The alleged act occurred on January 1, 2019, during Montiel's birthday party, and consisted of "sexual abuse with penetration aggravated by a group of people" in the player's house, according to the lawyer Raquel Hermida in an interview with Radio 10.
The original complaint in the La Matanza municipality, where the abuse allegedly took place, is being expanded these days because the victim, according to the lawyer, received threats from the player's entourage, including Montiel's mother, when she went to ratify the abuse complaint.
According to Hermida, the victim had had "a small, short relationship" with Montiel, who invited her to meet his family and insisted that she attend the party in La Matanza.
The victim is a model and does not drink alcohol, but after trying two drinks "she became absolutely unconscious" the lawyer said.
Then the woman "was thrown outside Montiel's house" and "she doesn't know how many people were involved in the abuse", the lawyer added, nor does she "know yet how she got home".
The 26-year-old player played for Argentine club River Plate between 2016 and 2021, years in which he won a Copa Libertadores as well as several domestic trophies.
As an international with Argentina, he played in all three titles won by the Albiceleste: the Copa America 2021, the Finalissima 2022 and the Qatar 2022 World Cup, in which he scored the decisive penalty of the shootout against France, which won the trophy for Argentina.
Source: Marca English