Judge Manuel Aguirre detected six acts punishable by defamation against the president of Conmebol. In the event that the rules are breached, the penalty for the former goalkeeper will become effective.
Chilavert in the dock and Domínguez in the background
The Justice of Paraguay sentenced José Luis Chilavertto one year in prison for slander, defamation and insults against Alejandro Domínguez, president of Conmebol. Judge Manuel Aguirre found him guilty of “attacking the honor” of the head of the South American Football Confederation, for his statements and publications on social networks in 2019, when he was denounced.
With the former goalkeeper sitting in front of him on the defendant’s bench, and Domínguez present in the room, the magistrate determined that there were six offenses punishable by defamation and he was sanctioned with a “one-year suspended prison sentence.” There is a ban on ex-San Lorenzo and Vélez to leave Paraguay, although if he presents guarantees every time he needs to travel, he will be able to do so. At the same time, he was forced to sign the appearance book every three months. In the event that he fails to comply with the rules, the penalty will become effective compliance .
“I am obliged to sanction him because he attacked the honor of a person, it does not matter if it is Alejandro Domínguez, it can be anyone, the State does not discriminate, even if you say that it is a class struggle, of a poor against a rich”, the judge told Chilavert at the time of sentencing.
The former goalkeeper was convicted of defamation of the president of Conmebol
“I configure the fact in defamation and I maintain that the custodial sentence against the man will be one year,” the judge stressed. “You can exercise your right to opinion, all things can be said, but as politicians say, there are ways to say them,” concluded the magistrate.
The complaint had been filed in 2020 “based on expressions made in the months of September, October, November and December 2019, a total of 11 opportunities. It is requested that as a result of an oral and public trial be declared punishable under the scope of defamation, slander and insult “, Claudio Lovera, Domínguez’s lawyer, had said then. The expectation of punishment in the case ranged from 6 months to 3 years of imprisonment.
It was a new setback for Chilavert in his dispute with Domínguez. A few days ago, the Specialized Unit for Economic Crimes and Anticorruption of Paraguay asked the criminal judge to dismiss the complaint filed by the former goalkeeper against the president of Conmebolfor criminal association, money laundering, breach of trust and tax evasion.
The former soccer player maintains that Domínguez, when he was president of the Paraguayan Soccer Association (APF) ), received the sum of 1.5 million dollars for a bribe in the FIFA Gate case from a check from Banco Continental, prepared by the former administrative director of Conmebol, at that time Cesar Rene Balbuena López. This complaint was initiated by the former athlete in 2021.
“What José Luis Chilavert said from Argentina, in his 13 tweets, is true and is supported by journalistic publications and the journalists are summoned to testify in this oral trial”, justified Chila’s defense. In his complaint, he also incorporated other alleged criminal acts, such as the alleged receipt of some 374 thousand dollars in fees and bonuses. However, prosecutors Liliana Alcaraz Recalde and Francisco Cabrera Sanabria concluded “the absence of any punishable act”.
Another postcard from the former goalkeeper of the Paraguayan team, 56, before Judge