The magistrate holding the Criminal Court number 19 of Barcelona, Salvador Roig Tejedorsaid the former captain of the Celtic of Vigo and current player Aris of Thessaloniki Hugo Mallo33 years old, of a crime of sexual abuse against the woman who worked as a mascot of the Spanish.
The incident occurred on April 24, 2019 at the Espanyol stadium, before the start of a match. League. Hugo Mallo was captain of Celta and approached the female parakeet mascot (there was another male), touching her breasts without her consent.
The judge decides that the compensation for moral damage will be 1,000 euros plus interest, following the payment of ten euros per day for 20 months. Hugo Mallo’s defense can still appeal this sentence.
The newspaper AS The judge’s sentence was published this Thursday: “It is proven that the accused today Mr. Hugo Mallo Novegil (…), around 8:30 p.m. on April 24, 2019, being a player and captain of Real Club Celta de Vigo, on the occasion of the match between Real Club Deportivo Espanyol and Real Club Celta de Vigo (…), at the time of greeting both the members of the opposing team and the two people who characterize the mascots of Espanyol, namely these are a parakeet and a parakeet, when they arrived at ‘Ana’, she was disguised as a parakeet, the accused, with the intention of satisfying his libidinous mood and violating her sexual integrity, put his hands under her costume and touched her breasts, “Ana’ was forced to step back and push the accused away with her right hand.
Last July, the hearing of the case took place, in which the complainant and her colleague, as well as Hugo Mallo and Rubén Blanco, colleagues from the locker room, testified. The accused once again denied the alleged abuse that allegedly took place after the first incident and during which the complainant, dressed in a parakeet mascot costume, was preparing to greet the visiting players.
Hugo Mallo when he was a player for Celta de Vigo
“I have been the mascot of Espanyol since 2016. Normally, I was the last in line. We received the whole line of players and they usually gave me a high five. Hugo Mallo’s hands went to my breasts and he touched me several times. “I was stunned and surprised. My field of vision with the costume is very limited. His hands touch my breasts under the head, under the costume, under the beard,” the complainant said in her statement.
Mallo gave his version of what happened. “She accuses me of a situation that I did not commit. I learned it the next day from my club. At first, I did not believe it, I thought it was a joke. The president told me that there was a complaint and that they would investigate. “I have already seen the videos. In that split second, I do not see that she is backing up, I am focused on the game. She did not push me away. In the video, I make sure that my hands are on her waist, not on her chest.”
Before Hugo Mallo’s statement, it was the turn of Rubén Blanco, current Marseille goalkeeper and his teammate at Celta: “I always start second, behind the captain. In this case, Hugo Mallo. I didn’t notice anything strange before starting. We were playing for relegation, it was a very important match. Hugo spoke to us before the match, as in all matches, we didn’t agree to touch the parakeet’s breasts, we didn’t even make a joke. ” he said. With the judge’s decision, one of the most publicized football cases of recent years is settled.
