This archive report was first published on 10 June 2020.
June 10, 2020
Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil star Neymar is facing a criminal complaint for homophobia after using an anti-gay slur against his mother's boyfriend in a leaked audio recording.
The complaint was filed by Brazilian gay rights activist Agripino Magalhaes, who claimed that Neymar and his friends made "criminal homophobia, hate speech and death threats" against Tiago Ramos, the 22-year-old boyfriend of Neymar's mother, Nadine Goncalves.
The audio recording, which was leaked to the media, appears to show Neymar, 28, using the slur against Ramos as he and his friends discuss a supposed fight between the couple.
Ramos and Goncalves announced in April that they were dating, and the relationship has been the subject of lurid stories in Brazil's tabloid press. Ramos, a model who is openly bisexual, was hospitalized last Tuesday with arm wounds sustained at Goncalves's house, according to police.
Neymar's communications team declined to comment on the complaint, but said that Ramos and Goncalves had testified before police that the incident was a "domestic accident".
