Photo credit: Matthias Hangst/ Getty

Rúben Semedo, a 23-year-old Portuguese defender who plays for La Liga club Villarreal, could’ve been the next great Portuguese central defender. Instead, it looks more likely that he’ll become the next great Portuguese criminal, given a recent spree of run-ins with the law.


Just today, Semedo was arrested by Spanish police in relation to a bizarre crime on charges of assault, kidnapping, and robbery. Marca has some of the details:

According to a report published in Las Provincias, Semedo and two unnamed men are said to have assaulted the individual in question before locking him in a room in the defender’s house. During this time, he has accused them of going to his own apartment and stealing money and potential blackmail material. The aforementioned report also states that the victim had both bruises and an ankle injury when he arrived at the police station.


The victim also claims that he was tied up before getting locked in the room in Semedo’s house in which he was detained, and that one of his assailants fired a pistol in his direction twice in order to intimidate him. Neither gunshot hit the victim.

It’s insane for such a high-profile athlete to be involved in something like this, but then again, it’s not entirely a shock that Semedo is the one linked to all this. Recent stories have put him similarly close to wild, violent situations a couple other times.

Semedo was arrested back in December for allegedly pulling a gun on a man, per local paper Las Provincias. According to the victim in that case, Semedo was out partying at a nightclub and refused to leave when the victim, an employee of the place, told him that the club was closing. When Semedo finally did leave, he waited outside in his car for the victim to leave.

Once Semedo spotted the man, he allegedly ran up to him with a gun drawn and pointed the weapon at the victim’s head. The victim claimed Semedo then said “Now what, call security.” The man got out his cell phone to call for help, but Semedo ripped the phone out of his hand and threw it to the ground. The victim then said Semedo turned away from the man and left him alone, but not before telling him “If you tell the cops, I’ll come back for you.” That case is still ongoing.


On top of that, Semedo was charged for assault in October in the aftermath of another alleged nightclub fight. That night, Semedo and the victim were making their way inside a club. When their paths crossed outside, the victim said Semedo starting yelling at him for no reason. The victim’s friends were able to mediate the situation and calmed Semedo down. Inside the venue, the victim claimed Semedo chatted with him as if everything was fine.

As the victim was set to leave the club, he said Semedo went up to him and offered to give the man one of his jerseys Semedo kept in his car. The man said there was no need for such a gesture, but Semedo insisted, and the man accepted. As the two men were heading to Villarreal player’s car, Semedo allegedly pulled a glass bottle from out of his pocket and smashed it against the victim’s head. The victim called the police, but eventually left after Semedo had picked up a rock from the ground and threatened to hit the victim with it.


This is Semedo’s first season in Spain after Villarreal paid €14 million to sign him in the summer from Sporting CP. That’s a lot of money to spend on a center back who appears to spend more time attacking off the pitch than defending on it.

[Marca | Las Provincias]