Assaulted mascot Carme Coma breaks her silence after Spanish footballer Hugo Mallo was caught on camera groping her breasts inside a parakeet costume
A woman who was sexually abused by Spanish footballer Hugo Mallo while working as a mascot has broken her silence over the incident.
Carme Coma, who worked for Espanyol as mascot Periquita, was groped by Mallo in 2019 while he was playing for Celta de Vigo.
Mallo, who now plays for Aris in Greece, was found guilty of assault and the judge fined him £5,100 and ordered him to pay a further £840 in compensation.
It was found that Mallo had put his hand inside Coma’s parakeet suit and touched her breast.
The judge found that Mallo had acted on his sexual desires and undermined Coma’s sexual intimacy.
Carme Coma, who was sexually abused by Spanish footballer Hugo Mallo while working as a mascot for Espanyol, has broken her silence over the incident
Mallo (pictured) was found guilty of sexually abusing Coma during a 2019 incident
Coma indicated that she does not want financial compensation, but that justice is done.
As reported by Spanish news agency Sport, Coma said: ‘I did not want financial compensation, but rather that justice be done. I have my job, I earn my living honestly and I did not want money, I wanted justice.
‘Women who are victims of abuse should always forgo financial compensation because we are labeled as opportunists.’
Mallo has announced he will appeal the decision, saying he greeted the players and mascots in a normal manner and did not know the gender of the person in the costume.
Two Espanyol mascots stood at the end of the line to greet the Celta Vigo players, one in a ‘male’ parakeet suit and the other in a ‘female’ suit.
Coma is believed to have left her role at the club in 2021, having previously worked as Periquita since 2006.
The judge at the 19th Criminal Court in Barcelona ruled: ‘The suspect, with the intention of satisfying his lustful desires and undermining her sexual integrity, put his hands under the costume and touched her breasts, forcing Ana to take a step back and push the suspect away with her right hand.
In her victim impact statement, Coma (who goes by “Ana”) said Mallo “grabbed her breasts” after reaching under her mascot costume.
Footage from a 2019 competition shows Mallo quickly greeting the male parakeet (left) before hovering next to Periquita (right)
“When Hugo Mallo arrived (to greet the mascots), he gave his hand to the (male) parakeet (Periquito) as is customary, but when he reached Mrs. Ana, who at that moment was playing the role of the (female) parakeet, he put his hands under the costume and touched her breasts,” reads the victim’s initial complaint to the Catalan police, Mossos d’Esquadra – filed the day after the match in question.
‘According to the complainant, he grabbed her breasts with his hands and started making movements.’