City of Mexico -
"I'm lucky to be alive. He hit me and threw me against the wall," is part of the account given by Lucely Chalá, about the assault she suffered on March 5 by the winger of America from Mexico, Renato Ibarra.
The Ecuadorian footballer is currently detained in the Mexican capital, facing charges of "domestic violence" and "attempted femicide".
In addition to this, last Monday, he was left without a defense as his lawyer, Paloma Tarecena, resigned from representing the player due to "gender issues" that prevent her from continuing with the case.
Lucely, sister of the wife of the deceased Christian Benítez and daughter of the former midfielder Cléber Chalá, told TVNotas from Mexico what happened in recent days with her husband.
"Since I've been with Renato, we've had problems with his family; they've never left us alone and when they're around, he becomes a different person. And just two days before (the night of the assault), Renato brought his relatives from Ecuador: his sister Alexandra, her husband Marlon; his brother Bayron and his wife Tania, and Víctor, a mutual friend, who stayed at our house," said the winger's wife.
The footballer's wife stated that she tried to fix the situation with Ibarra, however, he "got angry".
"He got angry. Renato and I were in the room and he pulled my hair and pushed me against the wall. He did it even though he knew that my pregnancy was at risk due to the recent loss I had. While he was hitting me, his relatives, instead of calming him down, started hitting my sister and then me! Luckily, there was a mutual friend, Víctor, who took us into a dressing room," she said.
Lucely Chalá, Renato Ibarra's wife. (Photo by TVNotas).
"Renato told his relatives, 'Come on, hit them!' Then they attacked my sister; they had her on the floor, beating her. They had me against a wall while they were hitting her," added Lucely, who is pregnant and isolated in a healthcare facility in Mexico City.
Chalá recounted that her youngest son witnessed the assault. "Yes, I was hunched over protecting my little baby. My son was also present, seeing everything, and Renato was aware of that. He yelled, 'Don't hit mom, leave her alone,' he had a sword and wanted to hit them to defend me (cries). I felt so scared and I entrusted myself to God.... He saved us!"
She added that her sister Liseth (Chucho's ex-wife), who lives in Mexico City, was the one who called the police for help. She also mentioned that Ibarra, at the time of his arrest, said they couldn't take him because he was a "player for América".
"We explained to the police what happened; I let them in and they arrested Renato and his family; he refused to leave the house, there were many shouts, struggles, until they took him out. He tried everything to get the police to release him," Chalá concluded. (D)
"Renato and I were in the room and he pulled my hair and pushed me against the wall. He did it even though he knew that my pregnancy was at risk due to the recent loss I had."