Cristiano Ronaldo and 4 other major players accused of abusing women
The issue of se'xual assault seems to have taken a headline page in international entertainment and political media. But it is not only the politicians and top entertainment moguls who are being accused of wrongdoing.
Football stars are the recent set of celebrities that have had their fair share of being alleged of negative vices in the society.
These accusations rage from tax frauds to other punishable offences by the state or the country where they operate.
Listed below are the list of five famous footballers and their equally infamous accusations.
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We are mindful of the fact that some of these cases never went to court while others saw convictions for the footballer involved.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portugal and Juventus forward was only recently accused by an American woman of forcing himself on a woman in 2009.
Ronaldo has however denied the allegations referring to them as "fake news". His lawyers have expressed intentions of suing what they call "illegal reporting" by the outfit which broke the story.
2. Adam Johnson
Adam Johnson came to prominence in 2010 when he signed for Manchester City. He was then signed by his hometown club Sunderland for £10 million in 2012.
In March 2015, Johnson was arrested and charged over se'xual activity with a 15 year-old girl. He was just released after serving six-year prison term.
3. David De Gea
Spain’s current prime minister Pedro Sanchez used to be a government lawyer. And one person Mr Sanchez wanted to prosecute is national team goalkeeper, David De Gea.
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It is now reported that there is tension between the goalkeeper and the country's leader of the government. The Manchester United goalkeeper was wrongly implicated as later evidence seemed to suggest.
4. Ched Evans
Ched Evans has been to jail and back. Evans was convicted of rap'e in April 2012 and spent two and a half years in prison.
His conviction was however quashed on April 21 2016 by the Court of Appeal, and a retrial was ordered. On October 14 2016, he was found not guilty.
5. Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery
Back in 2014, both Ribery, 35, and Benzema, 30, denied knowingly paying for se'x with Zahia Dehar when she was under 18.
The two narrowly escaped jail term but the issue has actually split the friendship between the footballers. And to cap things off, they have been prematurely retired from the French national team by coach Didier Deschamps.
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Source: Naija.ng