One of the World Cup winning players of Argentina Gonzalo Montiel has been indicted for sexually assaulting a model at his birthday party in Argentina.
Montiel is battling a complaint which has supposedly been put forward with the courts in Buenos Aires, his native Argentina.
The right back of Sevilla was the player who netted the last penalty in the penalty shootout against Les Bleus of France assisting Argentina to their first World Cup since 1986.
Montiel is yet to speak on the accusations put against him but it seems he has already consciously begun taking several means to clear his name.
The defender is taking legal means to clear his name
According to Argentine press reports, Gonzalo Montiel has filed a document with the court and he has appointed two lawyers as he is preparing to battle the indictments.
The press reports showed a scan of the file dated the 31st of March, 2023. Spanish, Argentine and French media have reported that the 26-year-old assaulted the woman on the 1st of January, 2019 during a birthday party at his house.
The woman’s lawyer, Raquel Hermida, speaking with Radio 10 said that the charges are “sexual abuse with penetration aggravated by a group of people”.
She revealed that the casualty, who is thought to be a model had been involved in a “small, short relationship” with the Sevilla defender, based on reports from Mundo Deportivo.
Gonzalo Montiel was a player of Argentine side, River Plate when the alleged incident occurred and the right back started his football career in 2016 with the team.
He made 138 appearances for River Plate during his time with the club winning the Copa Libertadores in 2018 and the Primera Division title in 2021.
After his time with River Plate, he signed for Sevilla in the 2021/22 season for a fee reported to be around £10 million.
Gonzalo Montiel has played 35 games for Sevilla and netted one goal in the La Liga. With Argentina, Montiel has won the Copa América in 2021 alongside the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Gonzalo Montiel conceded a penalty late in the World Cup final
During the final against France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he conceded a penalty deep into extra time following a handball.
Kylian Mbappe stepped forward and converted the penalty, bringing France back in parity against the Argentines.
The encounter eventually went into a penalty shootout with the defender driving a low shot to the left to hand Argentina their third World Cup title.
Montiel has made 23 appearances for Argentina and scored just a goal. His last appearance for the La Albiceleste of Argentina was in the friendly encounter against Curaçao.
The reigning world champions, Argentina smashed Curaçao by 7-0 and Montiel played all 90 minutes in the comfortable win for his nation.
