Wanted, Daniel Alves’ teammates do not speak out about the accusation of rape by the national team player

On December 9, Daniel Alves only appeared on the field against Croatia after the match was over. When Tite went down to the locker room, right after Marquinhos lost his kick in the penalty shootout, the right-back entered the scene, greeting his teammates, consoling the saddest ones after their elimination in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Three weeks later, he went to a nightclub in Barcelona, ​​where he allegedly raped a woman, which is why he is now in prison in the Spanish city.

Those same players who were comforted by Dani Alves at Estádio Cidade da Educação, now avoid talking about the veteran. Sought by GLOBO, 16 of the other 25 athletes from Brazil in the World Cup in Qatar were asked about the accusation that falls on Daniel Alves, the recurrence of cases of rape involving soccer players and other high-performance sports, and what can be done to lessen it.

None of them made any statement until the closing of the report.

Former coach of the Brazilian national team, Tite was also sought after. Via advisory, he said he would not comment until the final decision of Justice. Daniel Alves’ trial still has no date set for it to take place.

In a similar case, the players of the Brazilian national team did not have the chance to repeat what happens now. Neymar was accused of rape by Najila Trindade, who filed a complaint against the striker in May 2019. The news became public on the eve of the Copa America dispute. Granja Comary was visited by the police responsible for the case, who went to the training center to collect testimony from the number 10.

At the time, Fernandinho, Everton and Lucas Paquetá, in press conferences, tried to avoid the subject. In the end, they came out in defense of Neymar’s innocence. Three months after the complaint was filed, the Justice of São Paulo accepted the request of the Public Ministry and closed the case, due to lack of evidence.

The silence of the Brazilian national team players in the case involving Daniel Alves is not exclusive to them. At 39 years old, the winger has been a professional for 22 years. He played for Bahia, Sevilla-ESP, Barcelona-ESP, Juventus-ITA, Paris Saint-Germain-FRA, São Paulo and Pumas (Mexico). The Mexican club went public to repudiate the crime and opted to terminate the player’s contract.

Among athletes and former athletes, the only one who spoke out about the case was Xavi Hernández, a former teammate at the time as a player and also coach of the Brazilian in the Catalan team, last season.

Xavi was charged by the Spaniards after first statements in which he mentioned the victim less than Daniel Alves. In a second interview where he was asked about it, he was more emphatic.

“What I said was misinterpreted or I wasn’t as blunt as I should have been, but it’s important that I explain myself. It’s a scabrous and delicate topic, yesterday I ignored the victim, but I want to make it clear that any act of gender violence or rape, whether it was done by Daniel Alves or anyone else – he said.