The Chilean Arturo Vidal, a great star of his country's football team, arrived to declare to a court south of Santiago de Chile after spending the night detained for driving under the influence of alcohol.
A hundred journalists and numerous fans wait outside for his exit from the San Bernardo Guardianship Court, a commune near the capital of Chile, the country where the Copa America football tournament is being held.
A group of teachers from the town also took the opportunity to demonstrate in front of the court in support of an educational reform in the morning, but later left the area to join a national march scheduled for today in downtown Santiago.
Vidal spent the night in a police station in Buin, another small commune south of Santiago, near where the Juventus de Turin footballer had a car accident with his red Ferrari on Tuesday.
The midfielder, who did not suffer serious injuries, arrived early to the court in a police vehicle. The time of his statement is still unknown.
Vidal, 28 years old, crashed his car on a highway about 25 kilometers from Santiago, when he was returning to the Chilean national team's concentration after enjoying the free afternoon.
Another vehicle was involved in the incident. The Chilean midfielder's Ferrari, in which he was accompanied by his wife, was heavily damaged.
The local police later confirmed that the footballer tested positive in the breathalyzer test, although no details were given about the result.
The footballer and his wife were transferred to a health center in Buin to check for injuries, the reports added. The causes of the accident are still under investigation, but Vidal assured that he was not responsible. "Today I had a traffic accident, it wasn't my fault, I am fine, my family as well, and thanks for everything," said the midfielder in a video posted on his Twitter account.
Vidal's detention, the tournament's top scorer with three goals, represents a big blow for the Chilean national team, which aspires to lift their first Copa America title at home.
La Roja will play for first place in Group A on Friday in a direct match with Bolivia at Estadio Nacional in Santiago.
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