A Boca Juniors player is sentenced to two years in prison for gender violence

Upon hearing the sentence, “Villa didn’t even flinch”said the sports newspaper olé. “She only closed her eyes once, but afterwards she always kept her gaze fixed on Judge Claudia Dávalos.”

The representative of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Sergio Anauati, had requested that the athlete be sentenced to two years and three months in prison for conditional compliance. The weight of the opinion is, however, strong enough for Boca Juniors to consider the decision to permanently remove him from the team.

By virtue of the sentence, Villa must “do a psychosocial treatment and participate in workshops in order to address their problems” for having exercised gender violence. The player must in turn “refrain from maintaining any type of contact with the victim and her family group.” Nor will he be able to consume “drugs and abuse of alcoholic beverages”.

“This is historic and is an example for what is to come. It is a milestone that should help all women report,” said Fernando Burlando, defense attorney for the player’s ex-partner.

The media point out that, based on what happened this Friday in a Buenos Aires court, Boca must decide what to do with the 27-year-old striker, who arrived at the club in mid-2018. Until now, he recalled olé, the club had chosen a middle path: it allowed Villa to continue as part of its squad because justice had not failed. “From this noon, the panorama is different“. Although no official statement has been made so far, “it is speculated that last night could have been the last time the footballer put on the Boca shirt.”

A few hours before the ruling was issued, Boca Juniors had faced Arsenal in a local league match. The team’s players, including Villa, posed with a “Not one less”, the slogan of the feminist movement that for years took to the streets to denounce femicides. The idea of ​​taking the photo had come from the soccer federation, as if anticipating the verdict.