Spanish footballer convicted of sexually assaulting woman who was dressed as parakeet mascot
12 September 2024, 23:34 | Updated: 12 September 2024, 23:35
A Spanish footballer has been convicted of sexually assaulting a woman dressed as a mascot before a La Liga game in 2019.
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Hugo Mallo, who was playing for Celta Vigo at the time, inappropriately touched the woman’s breasts, a court in Barcelona has ruled.
The woman was wearing a parakeet costume as the mascot for rival team Espanyol with the incident taking place as the footballers lined up before kick-off.
Mallo, 33, was fined €6,000 (£5,000) by the judge and ordered to pay €1,000 (£843) in damages to the victim as well as the legal costs of the proceedings.
According to Spanish media reports, Judge Salvador Roi Tejedor said in his ruling: "Upon reaching the height of the victim, disguised as a parakeet, the accused, with the intention of satisfying his libidinous desire and of undermining the sexual indemnity of the same, put his hands under the costume and touched her breasts, forcing the victim to step back and push the accused away with her right hand."
Mallo, who now plays for the Greek side Aris, maintains his innocence and said he plans to appeal the sentencing.
He also shared a video of the incident on his Instagram account which was accompanied by a written post in which he denied touching the woman’s breast.
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"I continue to categorically deny the facts attributed to me in the ruling," Mallo wrote.
"I acknowledged that while turning around after the greetings that my hand could have touched the waist of the parakeet, but I absolutely denied that it touched the parakeet's breasts."
The case was initially dismissed but that decision was overturned on appeal prompting a statement from Mallo at the time calling for "respect" and pointing out that neither Celta nor Espanyol found evidence of wrongdoing.
