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Atlético Madrid left back Theo Hernández has been accused of sexual assault and has been questioned by police over an incident alleged to have taken place early Saturday morning, according to El Español and Marca.
The 19-year-old is on holiday in the coastal city of Marbella and spoke with police on Monday after a 20-year-old woman filed a complaint against him. He was not arrested, and officials believe the complainant’s version of events contains contradictions. The investigation is ongoing.
The young woman claims that the two were enjoying drinks at a nightclub at around 4 a.m. on Saturday, June 3. At this time, Theo told her that he had to go to return some car keys. They went to a car park outside the club, climbed into the back of a Porsche Cayenne and began to engage in sexual activity.
The young woman says that she asked Theo to stop, but he refused. This precipitated a struggle that lasted for several minutes and is alleged to have ended when Theo threw her from the car; she claims that she injured her knees when she landed on the concrete. The woman then was taken by friends to a hospital before she filed a report.
Lucas Hernández, Theo’s older brother, was involved in a separate incident with his ex-girlfriend in February which did result in the 21-year-old’s arrest and subsequent sentencing to community service. These allegations, however, are of a different nature, and a release from the club regarding the incident has not emerged as of Monday night. Atlético issued a statement defending Lucas and condemning violence toward women soon after the defender’s appearance in court
Theo, who spent the 2016-17 season starring on loan for Deportivo Alavés, made headlines last week when he chose to go on holiday rather than join up with the France-U21s. He has instead decided to play for Spain over his native France and is set to make a controversial move to Spanish and European champions Real Madrid when the transfer window opens.
Update: Theo appeared before a judge on Tuesday and has been acquitted of any wrongdoing.