Argentina’s Boca Juniors drop player convicted of gender violence

Argentina soccer club Boca Juniors have decided to drop Colombian winger Sebastian Villa from the team following his conviction for violence against his former partner Daniela Cortes.

The 27-year-old Villa, a Colombia international, received a prison sentence of two years and one month on Friday following the conviction, which was suspended due to it being less than three years.

“As of now (Villa) will not take part in matches involving the first men’s soccer team,” the club said in a statement late on Friday.

The measure was unanimously agreed by the club’s board of directors and it will be imposed while the case is appealed in higher courts, the club added.

A court in Argentina found Villa guilty of “coercive threats with minor injuries in the context of gender violence” related to an incident his ex-partner reported in 2020.