Manchester United’s new signing Marcos Rojo is facing a court case back in Argentina after allegedly injuring a neighbour in a fight with a bottle in November 2010.
Rojo will be prosecuted for the attack, which took place on the night of November 7, 2010, when the defender was celebrating his move from Estudiantes to Spartak Moscow.
A row broke out between Rojo and his neighbour, Juan Pablo Gomez, who was struck with a bottle which broke. When a friend of Gomez, Pedro Celiz, tried to stop the fight, Rojo was accused of jumping in his car and trying to injure him.
The justice system formally accused Rojo in October 2012. He was re-accused in May 2014, and could face a trial.
“I have proved that Rojo attacked Gomez and hurt him in the face, body and forearm with a bottle,” said chief prosecutor Marcelo Romero in La Nacion.
“Our investigation is closed. We have proved the facts. I know we are talking about a famous person, but for me it’s just a normal case.”
No date has been scheduled for the trial yet, as Romero is waiting to learn from Rojo’s lawyers if the player will accept the charge or not. The maximum sentence Rojo could face is a year in jail, though if he accepts probation, he is more likely to receive community service that can be done in England. Rojo has proved a controversial figure in Argentina, and was involved in a fall-out with team-mate Sergio Aguero during the World Cup. Rojo invited a folk singer, Ezequiel Ivan Cwirkaluk, ‘El Polaco’, to visit the Argentine camp in Brazil, but it turned out that he used to be married to Aguero’s girlfriend, Karina ‘La Princesita’ Tejeda, before ending the relationship on bad terms. Aguero was said to be infuriated that Rojo led Cwirkaluk into the dressing-room, and El Dia newspaper alleged that the pair exchanged blows over the row.
Rojo has shrugged off criticism from Argentine fans and the local media and believes that joining Manchester United is his reward for keeping faith in his abilities. “It’s true that people said a lot of bad stuff about me, but I have always trusted in myself,” he told Fox Sports Argentina.
“I knew that if I worked hard, then everything would be okay for me. I was always calm, I know who I am and that I’m a valuable player even if others don’t think about me like that.
“It was hard to leave Sporting because they didn’t want me to leave. But I wanted to keep growing as a footballer and that’s why I decided to join Manchester United. They waited for me even though Sporting didn’t want to let me go.”
Rojo also spoke to his former Estudiantes team-mate Juan Sebastien Veron, who had a difficult spell at Old Trafford between 2001-2003. Surprisingly, Veron told Rojo to go for it.
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