After years of court trials, former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of rape and attempted rape accusations that were leveled against him.
Recall that Mendy was accused in October 2020 of raping a 24-year-old woman at his home in Cheshire and of attempting to rape a 29-year-old woman, who alleged that the footballer molested her twice in 2018.
However, after Mendy denied both charges, he was found not guilty by a jury of six men and six women at Chester Crown Court on Friday.
The France International joins a long list of footballers whose images have been dented due to false rape allegations.
Tribune Online takes a look at other footballers who have fallen victim to this ugly trend:
Ronaldo
Al-Nassr and Portugal International, Cristiano Ronaldo, was accused of rape in 2010 by an American lady named Kathryn Mayorga.
Mayorga claimed that the 5-times Balon D’Or winner raped her at a hotel in Las Vegas in 2009 and paid her $375,000 in 2019 to keep quiet.
The Portuguese, however, denied the accusation and maintained that although they had sex, it was consensual.
Neymar Jr
In 2019, Paris Saint-Germain and Brazilian forward Neymar was accused of rape by a Brazilian model identified as Najila Trindade.
Trindade claimed she flew from Brazil to France with the intention of meeting Neymar after they exchanged messages on Instagram. She alleged that the PSG star met her at a hotel drunk and forcefully had sex with her without her consent.
The case was dismissed in court and Neymar was cleared after Police failed to find enough evidence to substantiate the accusation made by the Brazilian model.
Callum Hudson-Odoi
English-born professional footballer, Callum Hudson-Odoi, was arrested in 2020 on an accusation of sexual assault.
He was, however, cleared of the allegation a few months later after the Metropolitan Police ended their investigations.
Taking to Twitter after his release, he wrote: “I have stayed silent and assisted the police fully throughout their inquiries, as I knew the day would soon come when my name would be cleared.”
Mason Greenwood
In January 2022, Manchester United forward, Mason Greenwood, was arrested in connection with images and videos with his girlfriend that had surfaced online, prompting allegations of attempted rape and assault causing actual bodily harm.
He was, however, cleared of the allegations after the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges due to the withdrawal of key witnesses.
culled from the Nigeria Tribune Newspaper