Manchester United winger Antony has issued a statement after he spoke to police investigating accusations of domestic violence against him in Brazil.
A woman filed a complaint to police in Sao Paulo earlier this month, accusing Antony of assault, bodily harm and threatening behaviour.
The accusations come at a time Manchester United are in the middle of an internal investigation into Mason Greenwood, who remains suspended by the club.
Antony has written a letter for his fans on social media to explain the situation from his perspective. The Brazil international denies the claims.
“To friends, fans and followers,” the 23-year-old posted on Instagram. “For you, after submitting my statement at the police station where the investigation of the investigation involving my name is being conducted, I wanted to speak publicly for the first time since I was falsely accused of assault.
“I stayed silent until the moment so that nothing could interfere with the investigation process, but during all those days my family and I suffered in silence. Despite being born and raised in a very needy community, I had never been through a situation similar to this, in which a false assault charge resulted in a preliminary and unfair public judgement on the part of some.
“After the closure of the investigation my innocence will be proven certain that justice will prevail and the damage initially caused to my image will be in the past. Thank you for the countless messages of support received at this very difficult time.”
Antony will hope this case gets solved as soon as possible, but he denies the claims and has not been arrested by police in Brazil.
The Greenwood situation is an uncomfortable one for the club to deal with… they could do without another.
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