David de Gea named in sexual assault case but denies any involvement

David de Gea has denied any involvement in a sexual assault case after the Manchester United goalkeeper was named by a protected witness as the person who arranged and paid for an encounter between two Spain Under-21 players and two women in a Madrid hotel in 2012, "I am supprrised by this," he said on Friday. "I deny it, and that's it, it's a lie, false."

According to a report published by the website ElDiario.es on Friday, which includes copies of statements from two protected witnesses, a woman alleges that she was forced to have sexual relations with a "new girl" and two footballers, one of whom is named as the athletic Bilbao forward Iker Muniain while the other has not been identified but whom she believed to be one of this Spain Under-21 team-mates at the time.

"The encounter was organised by the football player called David de Gea, currently at Manchester United Football Club, who would also be the person who paid for everything that day, as can be seen in WhatsApp conversation with Muniain," said a report drawn up by the Spanish police's central brigade against people trafficking.

Police have described the witness as highly credible and ruled out financial gain as a reason for her coming forward. De Gea is also named by another witness as the alleged recipient of pornographic videos with a view to arranging meetings with footballers.

The 25-year-old , who is with Spain in france preparing for Euro 2016 said, "I am calm. Few things stop me being calm, I will train and keep doing what I like." Asked whether he could stay with Spain, he said, "of course. If anything, I have even more strength. I have had great support from my team-mates. I want to play in the Euros. It is false and it is in my lawyer's hands."

"I have not thought about leaving France. I was in my room playing on the PlayStation when I was told. The first thing was to warm my family, to make sure they are calm. They know it is false."

"She (the witness) can give all the details she likes. This is in my lawyer's hands. I am very, very calm. I know what I do with my life. It is all false. I have no idea (where it come from) and how it came to be in the press. It's a way of sullying someone's image. That's it."

Muniain's agent, Jesus Medina said, "We do not know anything at all about this case. Neither the police nor the courts have been in touch to request any kind of information." There has been no statement from De Gea camp as yet.

Sources at ElDiario.es said that the girl was by no means sure of the identity of the third player. "The girl later on contacted both Muniain and De Gea in order to find out who the third footballers was, who she does not identify," explained Laura Cornejo, the journalist who broke the story. One of the statements published by ElDiario has a second player's named blacked out.

In a short statement, Muniain said on Friday, "in response to the information published today about me I wish to state:

1. The events described are completely false.

2. In the coming days I will appoint a lawyer to defend my honour.

3. I hope that all the fans who have supported me on the field of play trust me at this time."

The witness statements were made as part of a continuing investigation into the activities of Ignacio Allende Fernandez, better known as "Torbe". He is being investigated for child pornography, prostitution, sexual assault, money laundering and extortion and has been in jail since April. In total, 10 people are set to face charges, including Allende Fernandez and his Ukrainian business partner Borys Malynovskyi.

The witness alleges that Allende Fernandez drove her to a hotel in central Madrid, where he told her that she would be paid "a lot of money" for having sexual relations with another woman, Muniain and another player. The woman was told that she had to do whatever the footballers wanted and when she refused, Allende Fernandez grabbed her by the arm and forced her to.

The statement alleges that she was "sexually abused by both players" and "physically assaulted by both". Afterwards, it is alleged that she was threatened and warned not to reveal their identity. The statement says that the women were not paid, despite having been told they would be, and that Allende Fernandez took the money for himself.

A statement from another protected witness, aged 17, alleges that Allende Fernandez had drugged her and raped her twice. She said that he made her film an explicit video which he claimed would be sent to De Gea and other players in order to arrange encounters.

No players have been called to testify since the statement was made in May 2015. Various victims have made statements before the investigating judge and the accused are expected to be called next week.



source:
The Guardian