Former Brazil football star Ronaldinho on Monday was released by a Paraguayan judge after spending five months in detention over a forged passport.
Judge Gustavo Amarilla also released Ronaldinho’s brother, Roberto de Assis Moreira, who likewise had been held for a month in jail and another four months under house arrest in a hotel in Paraguay’s capital, Asuncion, for the same charge.
The 40-year-old former FIFA World Cup winner “is free to travel to whatever country in the world he wants, but he must inform us if he changes his permanent residence” for one year, Amarilla said.
Photo: Reuters
“He has no restrictions except for the fulfillment of reparations for damage to society,” the judge said.
Ronaldinho accepted the terms of his release, which include payment of US$90,000 in damages. His brother, who is also his business manager, must pay US$110,000.
The judge said that he was not issuing a “definitive dismissal” of the case, but rather that Ronaldinho was benefitting from a “conditional suspension of the procedure.”
His brother, on the other hand, was given a two-year suspended sentence.
Prosecutors said they did not believe Ronaldinho took part in the plan to manufacture the fake Paraguayan passports, but believed De Assis Moreira was aware that the passports were false.
“They flagrantly used a public document containing false content,” said Marcelo Pecci, one of the public prosecutors, who said it was a “very serious” offense.
Taiwan won a back-and-forth match at the Unions Cup in Singapore yesterday, but the hosts claimed the trophy due to a better points differential over the tournament. Singapore’s players celebrated with the cup, despite losing a match in which they seized the lead three times, but ultimately fell to a 19-16 defeat. Their points advantage was due to their strong opening game against the other team in the competition, Thailand, who they beat 30-8 on Saturday last week. Taiwan narrowly lost to Thailand on Tuesday and went into yesterday’s match facing a steep challenge. They responded well, opening the game with sustained pressure
An “outstanding” 17-year-old Chinese badminton player died of cardiac arrest after collapsing on court during a tournament in Indonesia, officials said yesterday. Zhang Zhijie was playing a match late Sunday against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The score was 11-11 in the first game when Zhang fell to the floor between points. The teenager received treatment at the venue and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, but passed away later that night after repeated efforts to resuscitate him failed. “Medical conclusions ... indicated that the victim experienced sudden cardiac arrest,” Broto Happy, spokesman for
A buzz of excitement crackled through the hushed arena as the rider gripped the reins of her stuffed steed. Welcome to the strangely exacting world of hobby-horsing, the Finnish sport guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Immaculately coiffed equestrians leap athletically over fences just like in horse jumping, going as fast as they can against the clock straddling their stick steeds. Things are more stately in the dressage, with riders trotting their stick horses with intricately decorated stuffed heads before the discerning eyes of the judges. About 260 riders from 22 countries — most women and girls aged 10 to 20 —
Taiwan’s men’s national basketball team is set to upgrade its depth in the paint after signing Brandon Gilbeck of the P.League+’s Formosa Dreamers to a naturalized player’s contract. The 27-year-old big man from the US landed in Taoyuan early on Monday, where he was welcomed by Chinese Taipei Basketball Association deputy secretary-general Chang Cheng-chung. The two signed the deal, which still has to be approved by the Sports Administration and the Ministry of the Interior. Chang said he is confident that “the proceedings would go smoothly.” If approved, Gilbeck would become the third naturalized basketball player in Taiwan, following the New Taipei Kings’ Quincy