On Sunday afternoon, Manchester United confirmed their Brazil winger Antony would not return to the club’s training ground to begin the preparations for this weekend’s resumption of Premier League action following the first international break of the season.
A series of allegations had been made against Antony, with two more women joining his former girlfriend in claiming they had been assaulted by the 23-year-old during time spent in Brazil and England.
Antony has repeatedly denied the accusations and last week appeared on Brazilian television to say he would fight to prove his innocence. “I know the truth and the truth will come out,” he said on TV channel SBT.
United, who have acknowledged the allegations made against their player, say that Antony will remain away from the club “until further notice” but have so far fallen short of enacting a formal suspension.
The Athletic assesses the legal implications and considerations now facing United over his future…
What has Antony been accused of?
It was first reported in early June that Antony’s former girlfriend, the DJ and influencer Gabriela Cavallin, had filed a police report in Brazil alleging that the Manchester United player had attacked her four times.
This included alleged incidents in Brazil and in a Manchester hotel in January, where she claimed she was punched in the chest.
Brazilian outlet UOL also reported that Cavallin claimed Antony also “tried to attack her face with a glass” during an argument in May, which left her with a wound to a finger on her right hand.
Antony has maintained the allegations were “a false accusation of aggression” and accused Cavallin of changing her story. A statement from the player also said he had provided “the due clarifications to the police authority” in Brazil.
(Michael Regan/Getty Images)
How have Manchester United responded so far?
Antony was dropped by his national team on September 5 for their opening 2026 World Cup qualifiers at home to Bolivia and away against Peru. United responded with a brief statement to acknowledge “the allegations made against Antony” and say that police were “conducting enquiries”.
Last week, Brazilian media reported two more women had alleged being attacked by Antony. Rayssa de Freitas was said to have filed a police complaint against him in May last year, when Antony was still with Dutch club Ajax. Ingrid Lana then alleged Antony pushed her against a wall and tried to have sex with her when she visited his house in England last October on business.
Antony responded during an extensive interview with SBT last Friday, in which he denied all allegations of assault and vowed to clear his name.
United have been aware of the accusations levelled against Antony since the emergence of reports in June and, amid an intensifying storm, confirmed on Sunday that Antony would not return, as had been previously planned, to training the next day.
“Manchester United acknowledges the allegations made against Antony,” a statement read. “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.”
“I have agreed with Manchester United to take a period of absence while I address the allegations made against me,” said Antony, in his own statement issued simultaneously. “This was a mutual decision to avoid distraction to my team-mates and unnecessary controversy for the club.”
How does this approach differ from a formal suspension?
“The act of suspension is the first stage of a disciplinary process that typically leads somewhere ,” says Dan Chapman, partner and head of sport and employment at UK law firm Leathes Prior. “You can pretend it’s a neutral act but the reality is that it’s a relatively hostile act.
“A leave of absence is not going that far at all. They’re acknowledging the allegation and giving the player a chance to deal with this. Usually, a suspension is considered the beginning of the end. This definitely feels very different.”
How long it will actually take for Antony to deal with it is unclear amid the back and forth of allegations but there is a clear distinction between this approach and a suspension, which would bring the obligation of a formal disciplinary process.
A standard Premier League contract, in place for the last 20 years after a bargaining agreement was struck with the players’ union, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), stipulates that a club can only suspend a player for up to 14 days. Suspensions can be extended beyond that point, but only when mutually agreed between player and club.
“If Manchester United want to take to action under the disciplinary process, they would trigger the option of a 14-day suspension that is written into Premier League contracts while they investigate,” explains Jamie Singer, a founding partner of sports specialists Onside Law.
“They’re effectively giving themselves longer here by telling the player to stay away and sort it out. That gives the club time to decide if the allegations are credible. Later down the track, they might bring in that 14-day suspension, and at the end of that, they’ve got to take action.
“These situations are very difficult for the club (involved) and at the moment they’re fudging it by telling him to stay away so they’re not forced to formally begin their own disciplinary process. Once they’re caught in that, it’s difficult to get out without making some sort of sanction or decision.”
What happens now?
According to the club statement released on Sunday, Antony will stay away from United “until further notice” and, for now, this will be a watching brief as police investigate allegations in Brazil.
There is currently no indication when that process will reach a conclusion, but there is also the potential for Antony to face questioning from Greater Manchester Police (GMP), too.
Vanessa Araujo, described by the BBC regional news show North West Tonight as Cavallin’s UK lawyer, said that her client made a formal complaint to GMP on Friday, September 1.
GMP said last Tuesday it was “aware of the allegations made and inquiries remain ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding this report”.
“If he’s arrested or charged, then they’re going to struggle not to suspend,” Chapman says. “There’s a clear precedent now when a player is charged with a criminal offence that suspension will follow.
“They have to do that because of the backlash of fans and the media. It would be unsustainable. But if there are no criminal charges and it remains this very public spat between Antony and the women concerned, then at some point Manchester United have got to make a decision.
Antony with United manager Erik ten Hag last month (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
“Either they say there’s no criminal charge and this is a private matter between Antony and the women, business as usual, or at some point they’d have to suspend on the basis that this is causing the club to be brought into disrepute.”
That leaves United on shifting sands.
“It’s always tricky legally when it’s only allegations,” adds Singer. “There’s currently no breach of his contract and there won’t be until we know if the allegations made against him are true. That puts the club in a really difficult position. There’s a clause in the contract that says he won’t do anything that will bring the club into disrepute. Assaulting your partner is something that would bring the club into disrepute, obviously, but, of course, he denies he did that.”
If — and it remains an unknown — Antony was to be charged with the offences alleged by his former partner and the two other women, United would find themselves with an even greater headache centred on how to proceed with a 23-year-old they signed from Ajax for £82million ($102.3m at current rates) little more than a year ago.
“Behind it all is the fundamental legal principle that you’re innocent until proven guilty,” Singer says. “There’ll be a media pressure to do something but from a legal standpoint the player has the opportunity to defend himself and shouldn’t be presumed guilty because of what’s in the public domain.
“This is also a major, major asset, but given the media scrutiny and the way the club behaved in the past, they’re going under huge pressure to deal with this appropriately. I think they’ll be very, very careful, given what happened with Mason Greenwood.”
How does United’s stance differ from how they handled Greenwood?
Chief executive Richard Arnold told United fans in an open letter last month that it had been “immediately concluded” that Greenwood would be “suspended pending investigation” once audio footage and images emerged online in January 2022. United released a statement later the same day saying the forward would not be eligible for selection until further notice, and he was arrested a few hours later.
Charges of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm followed last October but four months later that case was dropped by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service.
Greenwood, who was kept on full pay throughout his absence from the first team, always denied the charges and United’s senior leadership team were told in early August of plans to bring him back.
After strong criticisms from a section of its fanbase and abuse charities, United’s internal investigation concluded on August 21 that it had been “mutually agreed that it would be most appropriate” for Greenwood to continue his career away from Old Trafford. He then agreed a season-long loan to Spanish top-flight side Getafe on deadline day, September 1.
Greenwood has not played for United since January 2022 and has now been loaned to Madrid-based Getafe (Isabel Infantes/PA Images via Getty Images)
United first became aware of Cavallin’s allegations against Antony in June and continued to select him as normal during their pre-season warm-up matches in July and August. When the claims were repeated and picked up by English-speaking media, they continued to make the player available for selection up until the 3-1 loss away to Arsenal on September 3, their final fixture before this international break. A decision to provide Antony with a leave of absence only came seven days later, following the emergence of further allegations from two more women — one of whose claims related to a time before United signed him.
United say they have listened and learned from the criticism of their handling of the Greenwood case, and sought external advice from the PFA and charity Women’s Aid. The club have not launched their own investigation as they wait for the judicial processes in Brazil and the UK to run their course but say they are taking the allegations seriously and will cooperate fully with any police inquiries.
“Clubs are going to find it increasingly difficult to get the right balance,” says Chapman, “ and maybe Manchester United have reflected on the Greenwood situation and tried to find a middle ground: don’t commit to disciplinary processes or buying into the criminal process; leave the player out of the club and sit on the fence for a little bit.
“They’re keeping their options open.
“With Greenwood, they clearly did form the view that there was a case to answer. Here, they might not be as sure.”
(Top photo: SBT)
