Real Madrid trio arrested over child-sex allegations

Three Real Madrid players have been arrested at the club’s training ground amid allegations they shared a sex tape of one of them with a 16-year-old girl.

Police confirmed the unnamed trio had been detained on Thursday on suspicion of “disclosing and distributing personal secrets” and remained in custody pending a hearing before a judge in the coming days.

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil told The Telegraph those arrested were aged between 20 and 21 and were not members of Real’s first-team squad, although reports in Spain said investigations were ongoing into whether more senior players were also involved.

Real said in a statement: “Real Madrid wishes to announce that it has learned that a Castilla player and three Real Madrid C players have made statements to the Civil Guard in relation to a complaint about the alleged broadcasting of a private video via WhatsApp.

“When the club has detailed knowledge of the facts, we will take the appropriate measures.”

Thursday’s arrests were made weeks after Spanish football was rocked by the scandal sparked by Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips after last month’s Women’s World Cup final

According to El Confidencial , the three players held were respectively from the club’s youth team, the reserve team and the third team.

Their arrest was said to stem from a complaint made a week ago on Wednesday in the Canary Islands by the mother of a 16-year-old Spanish national.

The alleged recording reported to police was said to have taken place in Mogán, on Gran Canaria, with those held accused of distributing the footage without the girl’s consent to their team-mates via WhatsApp.

Under Spanish law, if someone spreads sexual images or videos of a person without their authorisation and this damages their personal privacy, they face prison sentences ranging from three months to five years, depending on how the situation occurred. The fact that the victim is a minor means a sentence would likely be at the higher end of the scale.

In the UK, it is a crime to make or process indecent images of anyone under 18, two years above the age of consent for sexual activity.