Warning: Story contains graphic content
Manchester United’s Antony was removed from the Brazil squad Monday after his former girlfriend said that he attacked her and threatened to kill her.
Gabriela Cavallin said the 23-year-old assaulted her three times, including the day after his team’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City in January. Antony denied her accounts of events in an Instagram post and added, according to translation from The Guardian’s Tom Phillips, “Never did I commit any act of physical aggression.”
A CBF statement, with translation from The Telegraph’s James Ducker and Robert Mendrick, said: “Due to the facts that became public this Monday, involving striker Antony, from Manchester United, and which need to be investigated, and in order to preserve the alleged victim, the player, the Brazilian team and the CBF, the federation informs that the athlete is withdrawn from the Brazilian national team.”
Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus replaced Antony in the Brazil squad.
Cavallin told Brazilian outlet UOL that Antony punched her after the January victory, damaging a breast implant, and she then suffered a head wound when she made contact with the wall in the room at Manchester’s Hyatt Regancy hotel.
She also said the former Ajax player attacked her two previous times.
The first alleged incident occurred in June 2022. Cavallin said that after seeing her in a nightclub in Brazil, Antony put the then-pregnant woman in a car and “repeatedly assaulted her and threatened to throw her out of the car at high speed,” according to her conversation with UOL, Phillips reports.
Sao Paulo Civil Police are investigating this matter after Cavallin filed a report in June, according to Ducker and Mendrick. She filed a separate complaint to Greater Manchester Police.
Cavallin lost her baby the following month while on holiday in Brazil, according to the UOL report cited by Ducker and Mendrick.
The second alleged incident happened at a house on May 8, the day after Manchester United lost 1-0 to West Ham United in London. Cavallin said the player “tried to attack her face with a glass” during an argument and threatened to kill her. When she tried to protect herself, she suffered a wound to a finger that was so deep it exposed bone, according to UOL’s report, as relayed by Phillips.
Cavallin provided photographs of injuries and WhatsApp messages to UOL and other Brazilian outlets. One message purportedly from Antony read, “You and me are done. I hope you die. Get f—-d,” Phillips reports. In another message, Antony appears to apologize for “kicking and attacking” Cavallin.
In a statement to The Telegraph on Monday, Greater Manchester Police confirmed they were “aware of the allegations made and enquiries remain ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding this report. We will not be commenting any further at this time.”
Two weeks ago, Manchester United said Mason Greenwood would leave the club following an internal investigation into criminal charges, including attempted rape, against the forward. All of the charges were dropped in February due to the withdrawal of key witnesses and the development of new material. He joined La Liga’s Getafe on loan last Friday.
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