Nike ended partnership with Neymar after allegations
Status: 7:32 p.m.
Neymar faces serious allegations
What: AP
The sporting goods manufacturer gives the reasons for terminating the contract with the superstar. Accordingly, Nike ended the deal because Neymar “refused to cooperate in an investigation into credible allegations”. The Brazilian denies the allegations.
Dhe sporting goods manufacturer Nike terminated its partnership with soccer star Neymar last year after serious allegations against the Brazilian. “Nike ended the partnership with the athlete because he refused to cooperate in an investigation into credible allegations …”, the company announced on Friday at the request of the German Press Agency (dpa).
Last year, Nike had not given any reasons for the separation. Neymar rejects the allegations, as his spokeswoman announced on dpa request. First the “Wall Street Journal” reported.
Incident 2016
According to Nike, a company employee has accused Neymar of sexual assault. The incident is said to have occurred in 2016 and reported to the company in 2018. Neymar played for FC Barcelona in Spain from 2013 to 2017 and has since been employed by Paris Saint-Germain in France.
The employee initially requested that the allegations not be investigated, according to the Nike statement. The company respected this wish for confidentiality.
Neymar at the Brazilian national team’s training camp
Source: dpa
In 2019, however, the employee expressed her interest in pursuing the allegations, which is why an investigation was initiated. There was no result with this one. “There weren’t any facts that enabled us to talk about the content,” said Nike. Accordingly, it would have been “inappropriate” to make a statement about it.
Neymar’s sports marketing company announced, however, that the cooperation had been terminated prematurely for business reasons. “It is very strange that a case that is believed to have happened in 2016 … is now coming to light,” it said. Neymar has never been charged or prosecuted in the past five years. The declaration on possible motives for the termination of the contract was made in “irresponsible form”. Contract documents would not be published for the time being.
Neymar is currently with the Brazilian national team at the training camp in Teresópolis ahead of two World Cup qualifiers and the Copa America. A longer statement was published on Neymar’s Instagram account on Friday evening. The 29-year-old also rejects the allegations.
He doesn’t know the person making the allegations. “I had no relationship with this person or approached them. I didn’t even get a chance to speak to her, ”they say. Time would produce the “real answers”.
.
