A banner bearing the name of Cristiano Ronaldo‘s alleged rape accuser has been flown over Old Trafford in protest against the Manchester United player.
Recall that the 36-year-old Portugal captain has this afternoon made his return to Manchester United for their Premier League clash against Newcastle – taking just 47 minutes to net his first goal, before scoring again in the second half.
However, Thesun reports that the plane with a banner with “Believe Kathryn Mayorga” written across it started circling above the Old Trafford Stadium before the Man U’s game against Newcastle.
It is also revealed that the protest was reportedly organised by feminist campaign group.
Ms Kathryn, Ronaldo’s rape accuser – previously accused the playmaker of sexually assaulting her in a Las Vegas hotel room after meeting on a night out in 2009, when she was 25 – an allegation he vehemently denies.
Court documents obtained by Thesun revealed in April that she is claiming £56million in damages.
She wants £18m for “past pain and suffering”, £18m for “future pain and suffering” and £18m in punitive damages.
Denying the allegation, Ronaldo said: “I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me.
“Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in.
“Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense.”
On the night in question, Ronaldo, then 24, was in Vegas on holiday with his brother-in-law and cousin.
Ms Mayorga, who worked Rain nightclub inside the Palms Casino Resort, says she met Ronaldo in the venue’s VIP area.
He then invited her and a friend to his penthouse suite – room 57306 at the Palms – “to enjoy the view of the Las Vegas Strip”, she claims.
The luxurious suite featured a jacuzzi on the balcony.
Ms Mayorga claims she refused to get into the hot tub because she did not want to ruin her dress.
She said Ronaldo offered her some clothes to wear and told her to change in a bathroom.
The court papers claim that while she was changing Ronaldo walked in and exposed himself before asking her to perform a sex act.
Ms Mayorga says she then kissed him after refusing to engage in the sex act on the condition that he would let her go.
According to Ms Mayorga, after he pulled her into the bedroom and raped her, Ronaldo told her he was a “good guy” except for the “one per cent”.
Court documents lodged by her lawyers state Ms Mayorga had refused Ronaldo’s advances while screaming: “No, no, no”.
At first, Ms Mayorga was said to have reported the alleged crime to Las Vegas cops the next day but refused to name Ronaldo.
She later decided not to prosecute and signed the non-disclosure agreement in January 2010.
Despite acknowledging the existence of the NDA, his lawyers maintained that it was “by no means a confession of guilt”.
But in September 2018, as the #MeToo movement broke out, Ms Mayorga broke the agreement by giving an interview, resulting in Las Vegas Police reopening the case.
The Clark County District Attorney’s office announced in 2019 that it would not prosecute Ronaldo.
In a statement, it said: “Based upon a review of the information presented at this time, the allegations of sexual assault against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Therefore, no charges will be forthcoming.”
Ronaldo strongly denies the claims and has called them “fake news”, claiming the sex was consensual.
