Football star Neymar faces new police probe after publishing WhatsApp messages and photos of woman who accused him of rape in bid to prove he was ‘set up’
- Reports in Brazil say a woman has accused Neymar of raping her last month
- Filed complaint about the world's most expensive player in Sao Paolo last Friday
- The star used Instagram to publish seven-minute video of WhatsApp messages
- Now, police said he could be in trouble for publishing these along with pictures
Football star Neymar is facing a new police probe after defending himself against rape allegations by publishing videos and pictures of his accuser.
The PSG forward uploaded a string of WhatsApp photos and messages from his alleged victim on Sunday in an attempt to show the claims were a 'set-up.'
Neymar's management team called the allegations 'an attempted extortion.'
Brazilian football star Neymar, who is the world's most expensive player, has denied claims he raped a woman in a Paris hotel last month. He took to Instagram (pictured) to claim the incident was 'a set-up'
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But his bid to clear his name appeared to have caused him fresh problems today as police confirmed they had launched a probe into his publication of the sensitive material, which included images of the unnamed 26-year-old women in her underwear.
The investigation is being led by a specialist Cyber Crime Unit in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Local reports suggested Neymar, who is currently in Brazil preparing for the 2019 Copa America which starts on June 14, could be jailed for between one to five years if he is found guilty of infringing laws designed to protect people from being filmed or pictured without their consent in material of a sexual nature.
Sao Paulo state's Public Security Secretariat, which oversees police, confirmed in a statement that a complaint was registered, but did not offer details. Pictured: Neymar takes part in a training session of the national team
Neymar's accuser claims the 27-year-old footballer flew her from Brazil to a hotel in Paris after they met through Instagram.
She alleges he arrived at the hotel on May 15 'drunk' and after conversation and embraces, 'became aggressive and through violence, engaged in sexual intercourse against the will of the victim', according to a police document.
Neymar responded with a seven-minute video on his Instagram page which has sparked the new police probe in which he said: 'Due to extortion I'm being forced to expose my life and my family.
In the Instagram story (right), Neymar scrolled through alleged messages on his phone (left) between him and the accuser and denied the allegations. He is now under investigation
'I'm sharing everything and the entire conversation that I had with the woman, all of our private moments.
'It was a trap and I ended up falling for it.'
The footballer's representatives accused a Sao Paulo-based lawyer of attempting to extort money from the former Barcelona forward.
Neymar Santos, the soccer star's father as well as his agent, said: 'My son can be accused of many things, but I know what kind of man he is. It's clear that this was a trap.'
The initial document, first published on Saturday, says the incident took place on May 15 at 8.20pm in a hotel.
The woman went to police in Sao Paulo on Friday.
A report (pictured) emerged appearing to show the complaint that was lodged against PSG star Neymar
Sao Paulo state's Public Security Secretariat, which oversees police, confirmed in a statement that the complaint was registered, but did not offer details.
Earlier his father and agent, Neymar da Silva Santos, said his son had consensual sexual relations with the accuser and was blackmailed by her lawyer after they broke up.
'This is a tough moment. If we can't show the truth quickly, it will be a snowball. If we have to show Neymar's WhatsApp messages and the conversations with this lady, we will,' Santos told TV Band before his son's decision to go public with the graphic messages.
The incident is alleged to have occurred on May 15 at the Sofitel Paris Arc Du Triomphe (pictured)
The Paris police and the city's prosecutors' office said through spokesmen that they were unaware of any complaint as id yesterday.
The text also says the woman left Paris two days after her apparent rendezvous with Neymar, and said she did not file her complaint in Paris because she was shaken.
The police document says the woman will go through medical exams as part of an investigation.
Neymar is in Brazil preparing for the Copa America starting next week. He arrived at the Granja Comary training ground outside Rio de Janeiro 10 days after the alleged incident
It is believed the incident occurred at the Sofitel Paris, but sources there indicated the hotel had 'no immediate knowledge' of the complaint for rape.
The senior Sofitel management source said: 'Yes PSG footballers come here a lot, because we are close to their ground, but they go to plenty of other hotels too.
'Nothing has been publicised about this complaint. We have no immediate knowledge of what is being said.'
Neither the Sofitel, Neymar, nor his club issued any official comment on Saturday night, when news of the complaint broke.
Neymar arrived at the Granja Comary training ground outside Rio de Janeiro 10 days after the alleged incident.
Brazil players had a day off on Saturday. Neymar left the training ground with other team-mates in his helicopter earlier in the day.
The 27-year-old Brazilian has had problems on and off the pitch.
One week before the accusation of rape became known, he lost Brazil's national team's captaincy for the Copa America to veteran Dani Alves.
Coach Tite did not lay out the reasons for the move, but he was under pressure to punish Neymar for his disciplinary problems at Paris St Germain.
After PSG lost the French Cup final to Rennes on April 27, Neymar had an altercation with a fan and publicly criticised team-mates he did not name for not listening to him enough.
That was one of his first matches since January, when he once more picked up a fifth metatarsal injury in his right-foot.
Brazil's fitness coaches say he will be in better shape once the South American tournament begins.
This week Neymar skipped two Brazil training sessions in Copa America preparations because of pains in his left knee.
Brazil's football confederation said on Friday he was fully recovered.
