A former chauffeur of one of Manchester United star Antony’s female accusers has reportedly given evidence over her assault claims in a statement to Brazilian police
Sandro Oliveira was interviewed on Wednesday by police in Sao Paulo probing the footballer after ex Gabriela Cavallin made a formal complaint against him.
He and her best friend Brenda Tereza Gondacki corroborated her domestic violence and abuse allegations against Antony, Brazilian media are reporting.
Mr Oliveira told police that in November 2021, the first of three occasions he met the footballer when Gabriela asked him to pick her then-lover up from the airport following an international match, he insisted on checking her mobile phone messages to see who she had been speaking with after getting in the car.
According to Brazilian newspaper Extra, he also recounted how he had responded to an SOS message from the 23-year-old after she was ‘assaulted’ at the luxury apartment near Sao Paulo where the footballer was photographed earlier this month with friends.
A former chauffeur of one of Manchester United star Antony’s female accusers has reportedly ratified her assault claims
Sandro Oliveira was interviewed on Wednesday by police in Sao Paulo
Gabriela Cavallin made a formal complaint against Antony and her best friend corroborated the allegations
Antony, also 23, is believed to be staying at the apartment on the gated Alphaville condominium in the upmarket municipality of Barueri after agreeing to an indefinite leave of absence from his club following the abuse allegations made by Gabriela and Brazilian bank worker Ingrid Lana.
Gabriela’s driver told police he received a phone call from the DJ and influencer on the last of the three times he met the footballer saying: ‘Antony is hitting me’ according to Extra.
It reported Antony phoned him shortly after he arrived in the area to say: ‘Sandro, come and get Gabi before I do something.’
The chauffeur and Gabriela are said to have followed the Man United striker as he drove off when the DJ got into her driver’s vehicle and told him her then-lover had threatened to kill himself.
They ended up losing him in traffic before phoning the footballer’s brother to tell him about the ‘alleged suicide threat,’ Extra reported.
Sandro is said to have told police he noticed Gabriela’s face and left arm were ‘very red.’
The alleged Sao Paulo assault, said to have happened when Gabriela was carrying Antony’s child before she lost the baby around 16 weeks into her pregnancy, is one of a number of shocking claims the DJ and influencer has made against the footballer.
Police in the UK are probing two alleged incidents in Manchester involving Gabriela. Bank worker Ingrid Lana, 33, has also claimed she was pushed against a wall in the city after travelling to meet Antony for business last September.
Bank worker Ingrid Lana, 33, has also claimed she was pushed against a wall in the city after travelling to meet Antony for business last September
Gabriela, who has been separated from the footballer since May, has claimed one of the alleged assaults happened at his rented home in Manchester after he threw a glass at her and injured one of the fingers of her hand.
She claims she was locked inside a mini-football court inside the house for around an hour until his physiotherapist Fernando Robert Silva arrived before being taken to hospital in the early hours of May 9 for treatment to her wounds.
Reports in Brazil say the house where the alleged assault occurred had been previously used by former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba until Antony ‘inherited’ it after Pogba moved to Italy.
The under-investigation £82 million winger, who moved to Old Trafford from Ajax in August last year, has denied any wrongdoing.
He said in a statement just under a fortnight ago after agreeing to a leave of absence while he fights the accusations against him: ‘I have agreed with Manchester United to take a period of absence while I address the allegations made against me.
‘This was a mutual decision to avoid distraction to my team-mates and unnecessary controversy for the club.
‘I want to reiterate my innocence of the things I have been accused of, and I will fully cooperate with the police to help them reach the truth. I look forward to returning to play as soon as possible.’
Antony has denied any wrongdoing as he takes a ‘period of absence’ from Man United
In a Brazilian TV interview two days before the move was announced, Antony said he ‘knows the truth’
Manchester United said in its statement on September 10: ‘Manchester United acknowledges the allegations made against Antony.
‘Players who have not participated in international matches are due back in training on Monday. However, it has been agreed with Antony that he will delay his return until further notice in order to address the allegations.
‘As a club we condemn acts of violence and abuse. We recognise the importance of safeguarding all those involved in this situation, and acknowledge the impact these allegations have on survivors of abuse.’
In a Brazilian TV interview two days before the move was announced, Antony said: ”I know the truth and it will come out.’
He also spoke out against domestic violence and insisted he would never harm a woman.
He said: ”It’s totally wrong, 100 per cent wrong. I have a mother, a sister, and I would never want this to happen to them.
‘I’m 100 per cent sure I’ve never touched a woman, and I’ll come up with the evidence. People will see the truth. I have never assaulted and I will never assault. I’m sure I’ve never committed physical violence.’
