/ 5 October 2018

Editorial: How much will fans let slide?

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Cristiano Ronaldo, football superstar. Cristiano Ronaldo, international celebrity. Cristiano Ronaldo, tax fraud. Cristiano Ronaldo, alleged rapist.

Football is escapism and, in pursuit of that escape, fans are prepared to let much slide. Never mind abuses such as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s human rights record, or Qatar’s treatment of its migrant labour force, or Fifa’s corruption — let the games begin!

When Lionel Messi was convicted for tax fraud, he was quickly forgiven. When Ronaldo was convicted for tax fraud, the same happened.

But now allegations of rape have been levelled at Ronaldo, and football fans need to ask themselves: How much more are they prepared to let slide?

Kathryn Mayorga’s testimony in Der Spiegel, backed up by documentary evidence including correspondence with Ronaldo’s lawyers, is a harrowing account of a man who always gets what he wants — and will not take no for an answer.

According to Mayorga, the alleged rape happened nine years ago in an exclusive Las Vegas hotel: over her repeated objections, Ronaldo “raped her anally. Without a condom, without lubricant,” Der Spiegel reported. The pain was excruciating, and the mental trauma has never left her.

The Las Vegas police department has reopened the investigation into what happened that night.

Ronaldo has denied all the allegations.

On Tuesday evening, Ronaldo sat in the stands while his Juventus team beat BSC Young Boys. Not because of the rape allegations but because of a red card he picked up in the previous match. He will doubtless play in the Italian league this week and in the Champions League next week. His sponsors have kept silent — even Nike, which has been cultivating a “woke” image with its adverts featuring Colin Kaepernick and Caster Semenya.

It’s not good enough. Cristiano is still a football superstar. He is still an international celebrity. But now he is also an alleged rapist — and that should always come first.

This editorial initially said Juventus lost to CSKA Moscow on Tuesday. This been corrected to the actual result.