International Football

RONALDINHO LAWYERS PUSH FOR FOOTBALLER’S RELEASE OVER FAKE PASSPORT SCANDAL

Published

4 years ago

March 10, 2020

Lawyers for Brazilian football great, Ronaldinho are trying to organise a hearing to get him temporarily released from detention for allegedly entering Paraguay with a fake passport, defence sources told AFP on Monday (March 9).

Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto were arrested on Friday and held in pre-trial detention in Asuncion for entering Paraguay using forged documents.

Sources close to his defence team said the lawyers were trying to get the brothers a hearing on Tuesday in the hope of securing their temporary release.

Brazilian press reported that the country’s justice minister, Sergio Moro, had contacted Paraguayan authorities over Ronaldinho’s case.

“Moro only called to obtain information on the case, because… the Brazilian government is following it,” a justice ministry official said, denying that Brazil was trying to meddle in the case.

Ronaldinho’s Brazilian lawyer Sergio Queiroz has previously insisted that the two-time world player of the year’s detention was “illicit, illegal and unlawful”.

“Ronaldinho did not commit a crime because he did not know that the passport they gave him was faked,” he said.

The brothers are spending a fourth day behind bars in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion, where late summer temperatures have soared to 40 deg C.

Queiroz wants the pair to be released and allowed to return to their home country.

He said prosecutors originally agreed that the footballer had acted in good faith before a judge ordered their detention, which Queiroz described as unwarranted.

Ronaldinho, considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, was one of the stars of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup win and played for European giants Barcelona Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, among others.

He and his brother arrived in Asuncion from Brazil on Wednesday and showed their passports to immigration police, who did not immediately notice any problem with the documents.

Hours later, when the passports were determined to be fake, investigators raided the hotel room Ronaldinho was staying in and seized the brothers’ identity cards and travel documents.

Ronaldinho said the passports had been given to him by people who had invited him to attend conferences sponsored by charities working with disadvantaged children.

A Brazilian businessman has also been arrested in connection with the fake passports, while two Paraguayan women have been placed under house arrest and Paraguay’s migration director has resigned.

Queiroz said the brothers were offered the passports “to facilitate the possibility of doing business” in Paraguay.

“The idea was to position Ronaldinho with brands and companies,” he added.

Paraguayan president Mario Abdo on Monday revoked by decree the legal status of the foundation that invited Ronaldinho to the country.

Defence lawyers for the “Angelic Fraternity” foundation’s administrator, Dalia Lopez, acknowledged that she had requested official Paraguayan passports for the brothers but said she had no idea that those delivered were fakes.

Authorities have issued a warrant for her arrest.

Lopez’s lawyers said the brothers had handed over US$5,000 (S$6,900) to “accelerate the process to issue the passports” and that she “never suspected” intermediaries dealing with the request would have submitted false information to authorities.

Her lawyers also denied she had paid Ronaldinho to come to Paraguay or that she was involved in business with him.

But the arrested businessman, Wilmondes Sousa, claimed Lopez was responsible for making the fake passports.

International Football

BREAKING – Video: Osimhen accepts to join Galatasaray

Published

5 days ago

September 3, 2024

Kunle Solaja

At last, Nigeria’s striker Victor Osimhen is out of the limbo. He has accepted to join Galatasaray on loan.

He is now asking for a release clause at Napoli to become €75m instead of €130m

He also wants a break clause for January in case top clubs approach him over move.

The final points are being discussed. He has been videoed celebrating with the Turkey club’s fans.

International Football

Uruguay striker Suarez to play last international match on Friday

Published

5 days ago

September 3, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez announced his international retirement on Monday, ending a 17-year career with his national team as their top scorer with 69 goals.

The 37-year-old, who has 142 caps for his country, made his international debut in 2007 and was key in the squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and won the Copa America a year later.

“Friday will be my last match with my country’s national team,” an emotional Suarez told a press conference.

“The fact that is my decision to retire and that I’m not retired because of injuries or that they stop calling me for one thing or another, that gives me a lot of comfort, it helps me individually.

“It’s difficult but it gives me peace of mind that until the last game I have given my all, and that flame has not been extinguished little by little,” the striker added.

Uruguay take on Paraguay at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo on Friday in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup before facing Venezuela four days later.

Suarez scored the stoppage-time goal against Canada that secured third place at the Copa America in July and the striker added that one of his aims was to show he could continue to contribute to the national team.

“My dream was for my children to see me win something important with the national team … that last goal was very nice for them and even though it wasn’t a trophy to take home, it was very nice for them,” he said.

“I wanted to show people again that I can continue to contribute to the national team and, well, I had the Copa America and yes, I could have done it (retired) perfectly after that, but having analysed the situation, I want to do it with my people, in my stadium.

“I want my children to live this experience. Saying goodbye with the people here is something that I don’t know if many have done.”

Suarez has already said Inter Miami will be his last club after joining the Major League Soccer side last year to reunite with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

-Reuters

International Football

Quitting Portugal never crossed my mind, says Ronaldo

Published

5 days ago

September 3, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo dismissed suggestions he had considered ending his international career in the near future, adding that post-Euro criticism did not worry him.

Portugal host Croatia in their Nations League opener on Thursday before welcoming Scotland in League A Group One on Sunday.

“That’s all from the press. It never crossed my mind that my cycle (with Portugal) had come to an end. Quite the opposite: it gave me even more motivation to continue to be honest,” Ronaldo told a press conference on Monday.

“The motivation is to come to the national team to win the Nations League … We’ve already won it once and we want to do it again. I might say the same thing over and over again, but I don’t think long term, it’s always short term.”

Ronaldo captained Portugal to success in the opening edition of the Nations League in 2018-19, three years after they became European Champions for the first time in France.

“Until the end of my career, I will always have the mindset that I will be a starter,” Ronaldo added.

“What I feel at the moment, and the coach’s (Roberto Martinez) words also demonstrate this, is that I continue to be an asset to the national team and I will be the first (to admit it) if that isn’t the case.

“When I’m (no longer) an asset I will be the first to leave. But I will go with a clear conscience, as always, because I know who I am, what I can do, what I do and what I will continue to do.”

The 39-year-old appeared untroubled by criticism he faced for failing to score at the 2024 European Championship.

“Criticism is great because if it doesn’t exist there’s no progress. It’s always been like this. Is it going to change now? It won’t,” Ronaldo said.

“So I try to follow my path, be as professional as possible, help in the best way possible with my professionalism and not just with goals, assists, discipline, and example, because football is much more than just playing well or scoring a goal.

“The people who give their opinions have never been in a locker room, and I often laugh because it’s the same thing as me talking about Formula 1.

“How can I give my opinion on Formula 1 if I don’t know anything about tires, rims or the weight of the car … It’s normal and that’s why for me criticism is good and part of it, it’s no problem at all.”

-Reuters