4 players from Argentina's Vélez Sarsfield club arrested in a rape investigation
Jose Ignacio Florentin, of Velez Sarsfield, celebrates at the end of a Copa Libertadores soccer match in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 6, 2022. A female journalist filed a complaint against Florentin and three other players from the Argentine soccer club Vélez Sarsfield saying they drugged and raped her on March 2 in Tucumán, Argentina. Credit: AP/Natacha Pisarenko
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Four players from Argentina top-flight club Vélez Sarsfield were arrested on Monday in connection with a rape case.
Goalkeeper Sebastián Sosa, defender Braian Cufré, midfielder José Ignacio Florentín and striker Abiel Osorio were arrested.
That followed a request from case prosecutor María Eugenia Posse in San Miguel de Tucumán, 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) north of the capital Buenos Aires.
The alleged victim told authorities that on March 3 she agreed to join one of the players in a hotel room and three other men were there. The woman said she drank alcohol with the players, fell asleep in one of the beds, and was allegedly raped.
Patricia Neme, a lawyer for the alleged victim, told Argentine media that Sosa made contact with her client and invited her to the hotel. Sosa denied any wrongdoing.
Vélez, a historic club with 10 national titles and the 1994 Copa Libertadores trophy, said it suspended the contracts of all four footballers after they were arrested.
“This club stresses its deepest concern for the denounced facts, which are clearly against the principles and values of our institution," Vélez said in a statement.
Braian Cufre, of New York City FC, plays an MLS soccer match in New York, Aug. 30, 2023. A female journalist filed a complaint against Cufre, who also plays with Argentine soccer club Vélez Sarsfield, and three other players from the Argentine club, saying they drugged and raped her on March 2 in Tucumán, Argentina. Credit: AP/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez
