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Gender justice group Level Up flew over Old Trafford on Saturday to protest Cristiano Ronaldo’s second debut for Manchester United in their Premier League game against Newcastle United, in support of the woman who filed a rape complaint against Ronaldo.
A banner with the words “#Believe Kathryn Mayorga” – the name of the woman who accused Ronaldo of rape in a case that has been closed and who has since taken civil action against him – hung from the plane.
“We flew over the Man United football field in a plane and our message is simple: believe Kathryn Mayorga”, Level Up wrote on Twitter.
“Let’s say NO to the culture of silence around the abuse of the football community. Engage your solidarity with Kathryn and the survivors.”
☄️ We flew over the Man United football field by plane and our message is simple: Believe Kathryn Mayorga.
Let’s say NO to the culture of silence around the abuse of the football community. Engage your solidarity with Kathryn and the survivors: https://t.co/YZgcxou75E pic.twitter.com/jvGVOBYTIP
– Upper level (@we_level_up) September 11, 2021
Mayorga said she was raped in a hotel room in Las Vegas in 2009, but at the time she did not disclose the name of the person who raped her.
In 2010, she accepted money from Ronaldo and his lawyers as part of a nondisclosure agreement.
Her case was first reported by Der Spiegel in 2017, where she has remained anonymous.
Ronaldo’s representatives initially said the reports were “journalistic fiction” before the signed documents were made public alongside correspondence between Ronaldo and his lawyers.
Mayorga came out publicly in 2018.
US authorities said in 2019 that they would not make progress in prosecuting him because the allegations “cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Mayorga then brought a civil action claiming that she was not in a mental state to sign the non-disclosure agreement.
Ronaldo demanded that the lawsuit be dismissed in June 2021 and that Mayorga’s lawyer Leslie Mark Stovall be punished for soliciting allegedly stolen documents in July 2018 from an entity called “Football Leaks”, months before the filing of the case.
Level Up has also started a petition in favor of Mayorga.
“It’s not just about solidarity with Kathryn, it’s about every survivor of sexual violence. It’s about breaking the silence around abuse and speaking the truth to power,” said a statement accompanying the petition. .
“It’s for anyone who knows what it’s like to live with lifelong injuries, injustices and being told to stay silent.
“These are football clubs and players realizing the reality that they cannot act with impunity – or pay to shirk responsibility.”
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