Electronic Arts says it's "closely monitoring" allegations against FIFA 19 cover athlete Cristiano Ronaldo, who is facing accusations of raping a woman in Las Vegas in 2009. As reported by The Guardian, Las Vegas police confirmed that they have reopened its investigation into the matter after his accuser made her complaint public in German magazine Der Spiegel last week.
"The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call of a sexual assault on 13 June 2009. At the time the report was taken, the victim did not provide detectives with the location of the incident or suspect description. A medical exam was conducted," the department said.
"As of September 2018, the case has been reopened and our detectives are following up on information being provided by the victim. This is an ongoing investigation and no further details will be released at this time."
Ronaldo has strenuously denied the allegation, saying on Twitter that "rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in."
"We have seen the concerning report that details allegations against Cristiano Ronaldo," EA said in a statement sent to Eurogamer. "We are closely monitoring the situation, as we expect cover athletes and ambassadors to conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with EA's values."
FIFA fans on Reddit also took note of the fact that Ronaldo's image has been removed from the EA Sports FIFA Twitter page, but EA said that was simply a rotation for marketing purposes.
