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Spanish police have arrested at least three unnamed Real Madrid youth players for allegedly distributing a sexual video featuring a minor. The players were arrested at the club’s training complex on Thursday, September 14. Three of the players are from Real Madrid's C team, with a fourth coming from the club's B team, known as Castilla.
According to El Confidencial newspaper, the case stemmed from a police complaint filed on September 6 in the Canary Islands by the mother of the underage victim. T he report further stated that the main focus of the probe is a Real Madrid C - the Spanish club’s third team - player who allegedly recorded his sexual relationship with the 16-year-old victim. Cadena SER radio station reported that the relationship was consensual. The two other players allegedly shared the video without the minor’s consent via the mobile messaging app WhatsApp.
"They were detained on suspicion of distributing a video with sexual content involving a minor," a Guardia Civil spokesperson said. They added that while the girl said any acts were consensual, the recording was made without her consent.
“Real Madrid announces that it has learned that a Castilla player and three Real Madrid C players have given a statement to the Civil Guard in relation to a complaint for the alleged dissemination of a private video on WhatsApp. When the club has detailed knowledge of the facts, it will adopt the appropriate measures, Real Madrid said in a statement.
Spain's Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, reacted on the matter and said that spreading sexual images is violence, "Spreading sexual images without consent is also sexual violence and is recognized by the Law Only yes is yes. Spain has said #SeAcabó: we have an obligation not to look the other way and guarantee all rights to all women. All my support to the victim and his family," she wrote on X.
This is not the first time Real Madrid has had to deal with this kind of issue, as Former Madrid striker Karim Benzema was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old back in 2014. The striker was accused of knowingly paying for sex with a woman who was under the age of 18. The Balon D’or winner was also involved in a sex tape scandal in 2015, in which he was accused of conspiring to blackmail his French national team teammate, Mathieu Valbuena, over a sex tape.
