Brazilian footballer Antony’s former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin, a model, has urged Manchester United to formally suspend him after making domestic abuse allegations against him.
Besides Cavallin alleging that the United star had assaulted her on four occasions, two other women, Rayssa de Freitas and Ingrid Lana, have also filed charges against him for physical abuse in Brazil. Antony has denied any wrongdoing in all three cases.
Despite the Brazilian national team having already dropped 23-year-old Antony from their squad for games against Bolivia and Peru, Manchester United are yet to resort to taking any action against him, which has irked Cavallin, who told The Sun on Sunday that the former Ajax man who joined United for £85.5million in September 2022 on a salary of around £150,000 a week, must be axed.
She said: “Antony must be taken off the pitch. It’s disappointing that he’s still allowed to play while an investigation is underway.
“I’m absolutely devastated by this whole process. How can life go on as normal for him? They can’t know what they know now and do nothing. He has to be suspended.”
In his own defense, Antony delivered a tearful interview on Brazilian TV on Friday, firmly denying the allegations and insisting he will go all out to clear his name, while police investigations continue in Manchester and Sao Paulo.
United declined to comment on Thursday night although a statement was issued on Wednesday saying that it ‘acknowledges the allegations made against Antony’ and ‘are taking this matter seriously’.
Responding in frustration to United’s statement, Cavallin, 22, questioned why United waited three months before officially responding despite her having made the allegations in Brazil in June.
She added: “Why did it take United three months? It’s just not OK.
“I prefer not to believe such a huge club, with such serious and professional people, would cover up a situation like this.”
33-year-old banker Lana – one of the other two women who had pressed charges against Antony for physical abuse – claimed in Brazil that Antony pressured her to have sex, saying:
“He tried to have a relationship with me and I didn’t want to… He pushed me against the wall and I hit my head.”