Brazilian soccer star Neymar testified for almost two hours at the Rio de Janeiro police headquarters on Thursday in a cybercrimes investigation linked to a woman’s rape allegation against him .
The Brazilian Soccer Confederation had reported earlier that Neymar had received a subpoena to speak with authorities about his social media posts consisting of images and messages sent by the accuser which he shared without her authorization, in a possible violation of her online privacy.
Neymar arrived to testify shortly after 7 p.m. and left around 9 p.m. He spoke to journalists afterwards at the police headquarters but didn’t provide any details about his testimony in the alleged cybercrime case.
“I only want to thank the support and messages that everybody sent,” said the player, who was using crutches because of his injured right ankle.
Neymar is expected to speak to authorities in the next few days about the rape allegation, which is being investigated separately in Sao Paulo, where the woman filed a formal complaint with the police on May 31. The complaint alleges that the Brazilian soccer star raped her in a Paris hotel room on May 15. A doctor gave a statement to the Sao Paulo police on Thursday about a medical examination he conducted on the accuser.
However, Neymar has denied any wrongdoing. After word of the woman’s allegation became known, the player shared the posts on social media to show that the accuser had sent him friendly messages following the alleged rape.
The accuser made her first public comments about her charge this week, telling two Brazilian television stations that Neymar raped her and used aggression or physical violence.’ She told the SBT channel that Neymar became aggressive after she refused to have unprotected sex with him. She said the player had sexual intercourse with her despite her refusal and hit her repeatedly.
“I said- ‘Stop it, stop it, stop it.’ He did not communicate, he just acted,” she said.
Meanwhile, a video emerged on social media Thursday night that appears to show Neymar and his accuser in a physical altercation. It is unclear how or when the video was made.
Neymar da Silva Santos, Neymar’s father and agent, said the new video is evidence that his son was set up by accuser. However, she denies sharing the video. “I wouldn’t expose myself this way to take money from Neymar. There is no logic, there is no sense,” she told one interviewer.
One of her attorneys said that she will testify in Sao Paulo on Friday.
