Soccer star Arturo Vidal and his teammates investigated for sexual assault at nightclub
Football star Arturo Vidal and several teammates from the Colo Colo football club are being investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman at a bar in Chile.
The incident reportedly took place after the team’s victory over Deportes Iquique in the penultimate round of the Chilean championship on Sunday evening in Vitacura, a municipality in the Chilean capital Santiago.
The accusation was formalized by the victim’s sister, who told authorities that her sister was allegedly drugged and sexually abused by the Mía Bar players.
The victim would undergo a test to confirm or rule out suspicions of sexual abuse.
Chilean football star Arturo Vidal and several of his teammates from the Colo Colo club are being investigated for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman early Monday at a bar in Vitacura, a municipality in the capital Santiago
Police entered a private area next to the bar and attempted to obtain ID cards from Arturo Vidal and teammate Leandro Gil
Police Colonel Gerardo Aravena told local reporters that Vidal was taken to the 37th Police Station, where he underwent “an investigative identity check,” a police procedure used when there is suspicion that someone has committed, is about to commit or is attempting to commit a crime. has taken to this end. to commit a crime.
His teammates also followed the same procedure and made statements at the bar.
A Mía Bar manager told Chilean television channel Canal 13 that Colo Colo’s players were celebrating the birthday of their teammate, Lucas Cepda.
He added that the victim was sitting at the bar with some of her friends and that she was “having difficulty speaking and standing.”
Police released bodycam footage showing an officer asking Vidal and teammate Leonardo Gil to show their identification cards in a private area next to the bar.
One of the people in the video could be heard telling the police officer that he could only perform the identity check on the street.
Arturo Vidal was taken to a police station where he underwent “an identity check,” a law enforcement procedure used when there is suspicion that someone has committed, is about to commit or attempted to commit a crime.
The officer, whose bodycam recorded the incident, could be seen pointing a flashlight at the footballers and ordering them outside.
Vidal then asked the officer, “Why are you asking for identification in a house?”
One of the individuals then approached Vidal to calm him down and then gave a thumbs up to a police officer, apparently indicating that Vidal and Gil were willing to work together.
Aravena declined to discuss the allegations in detail, saying they are “still in the preliminary stages.”
However, he said that Vidal and his teammates “will probably also be called to make statements at some point.”
“The complaint mentions a group of athletes, but I cannot provide more details as proceedings are currently underway,” Aravena added.
Both the Public Prosecution Service and the police refused to specify the exact number of people involved in the case, but they clarified that there are no arrests at the moment and that they do not want to give more details for the time being so as not to prejudice the progress of the case . to research.