Betis Footballer Appeared Before the Judge

The Betis footballer Vilijam Carvalho has been questioned by an investigating judge as part of an investigation into allegations of sexual assault, the Supreme Court of Andalusia has announced. The Portuguese footballer was questioned by the magistrate and released after the hearing, which reportedly lasted less than half an hour. According to the court, the hearing came after a woman accused Carvalho of sexual assault.

Spanish media, citing sources close to the case, reported that Carvalho denied the allegations, stating that the woman had consented to sexual relations. The incident is said to have taken place in August, when Carvalho invited the woman to his home in Seville. The woman stated in her complaint that she had dinner with the footballer, went to a nightclub with him, and woke up the next day “showing obvious signs of violence on her body and not remembering exactly what had happened.”

Carvalho has played for Sporting Lisbon and been loaned to Fatima and Sporting Braga, and since 2018, he has been playing for Betis. He has represented Portugal’s youth teams and made his senior debut in 2013, playing 80 matches, scoring five goals, and winning the European Championship, Nations League, and third place in the Confederations Cup. Spanish football is facing a number of legal cases in which players are accused of rape, with one of the most well-known being former Barcelona player Dani Alves, whose trial began on Monday.