Neymar ‘relieved’ after rape case dismissed

Brazilian football star Neymar said he was “relieved” on Friday after a judge in Sao Paulo dismissed the rape case against the Paris Saint Germain forward citing insufficient evidence. “I’ll be sincere and I’m not going to say I’m happy, but yes, relieved,” said Neymar in an Instagram post.

The decision -- the final episode in the rape case hanging over the superstar since June -- comes on the recommendation of prosecutors just over a month after police dropped the case citing lack of evidence. Neymar vehemently denied allegations he raped a Brazilian woman in a Paris hotel in May. Judge Ana Paula Vieira de Moraes “accepted prosecutors recommendations and demanded the case be dismissed,” a court spokesman told AFP.

Neymar said he would “never forget” this incident due to the “PAIN it caused me, my family and the people who really know me.” He added: “This scar will remain to remind me at what point people are capable of doing good things, but also of doing BAD things.” Prosecutor Flavia Merlini had argued that the plaintiff Najila Trindade, a Brazilian model, had provided no conclusive evidence of rape against the PSG player.

“What happened between four walls is impossible to know, we have her word against his,” Merlini told reporters. “We have decided to ask for the closure of the case.”  However Merlini said dismissal was not equivalent to acquittal for Neymar, 27, the world’s most expensive footballer. The case could be reopened at any time should new evidence emerge, she said.