World Cup footballer fined and banned for ‘slapping woman’s backside in match’

A former Colombian international has been handed a four-match ban for allegedly slapping a woman’s bottom during a match.

Deportivo Cali striker Teo Gutierrez insisted he had done nothing wrong after being accused of tarnishing the image of Colombian football with his actions. But he was also hit with a £200 fine after an investigation by South American football authorities.

The incident that led to a probe against the 38-year-old, the 2014 South American footballer of the Year, is said to have happened in the tunnel at the end of a first-half match last Saturday (November 25) against Deportes Tolima, although it only came to light yesterday, when Gutierrez’s ban was announced.

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Dimayor, which organises Colombia’s top-flight Primera A league, said he had repeated his “abusive behaviour” as he headed back out for the second-half. The organisation’s disciplinary committee released a hard-hitting statement, identifying the player by his full name.

It read: “On Saturday, November 25, during the match played at the Manuel Murillo Toro Stadium in the city of Ibagué, between Deportes Colima and Deportivo Cali, an event occurred that we consider extremely serious and delicate from every point of view, involving as the protagonist Teofilo Antonio Gutierrez Roncancio.

“We were informed that when heading from the field of play to the visiting team's dressing room, more precisely in the inflatable entrance to the tunnel, the player in question touched a woman in her private parts by slapping her on her buttocks as he passed by her. The woman was one of the people hired by the home team to help with match logistics.

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“He repeated the abusive behaviour when he went out onto the pitch again once half-time was over, an incident that was witnessed by the Dimayor media officer and by one of the employees of the company that carries out the transmission of the match, who are willing to testify to corroborate what happened.

“The disciplinary committee decided to sanction Mr Teofilo Antonio Gutiérrez Roncancio with a four match ban and a fine of one million five thousand Colombian pesos for committing the infraction.”

The former River Plate and Sporting Lisbon footballer, who was punched and kicked by his own fans in September last year during a pitch invasion, indicated he would appeal in a furious overnight rebuttal of the allegations made against him.

He fumed on social media: “I have always professed the greatest respect for women, not only in the personal field, but also professionally and sportingly, which is why the slanderous statements made against me lack any foundation whatsoever and are not consistent with what occurred. I will defend my rights and my good name since an unproven or uncontested situation cannot lead to an administrative sanction like the one imposed on me.”

The footballer had earlier insisted the woman at the centre of the bottom-slapping allegation had approached him to ask for his shirt and he told her it would have to be on another occasion. He was assaulted during a violent pitch invasion by Deportivo Cali supporters in September last year which led to the match being suspended in the 81st minute when their team was 2-0 down and bottom of the table.

Die-hard Boca Juniors fan Carlos Tevez famously refused to shake hands with Gutierrez, who has scored 15 goals in his 52 caps for his country, in 2018 when he was playing for old side Atletico Junior in a crunch Copa Libertadores clash. Reports at the time said the pair’s feud dated back to November 2016 when, playing for Rosario Central, Teo hit an equaliser at Boca’s Bombonera stadium and celebrated by making a gesture to the crowd, indicating his love for arch-rivals River.

Fuming Boca players reacted and Ricardo Centurion pushed him to the ground. Both players were sent off and Tevez said after the match of Gutierrez, who played for River Plate between 2013 and 2015: "What Teo did doesn't surprise me. It wasn't necessary — but we know what type of person he is."

Gutierrez played a crucial part in helping Colombia qualify for the 2014 World Cup, scoring six goals in 11 matches. He was rewarded with a call up to the tournament in Brazil.

The 51-times capped forward featured in four of Colombia's five matches at the finals, scoring the second goal in a 3-0 win against Greece in their opener. He also started in the 2-1 quarter-final defeat to hosts Brazil.

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