Shadows Over a Barcelona Rising Star: Fresh twists in the Lamine Yamal case

Latest developments in the Lamine Yamal case

A Spanish newspaper report today outlines fresh developments in the case of an alleged sexual assault at a Barcelona player's home, Lamine Yamal.

Catalan police in Barcelona opened an investigation into a Dutch woman who allegedly was assaulted by Ansu Fati's brother, Fatino, at Yamal's home, with the initial claim that he drugged her and harassed her.

ABC, the Spanish newspaper, cited sources on Tuesday saying the Dutch victim woke up Saturday morning at Yamal's home, lying beside Fatino, Ansu Fati's brother, a Monaco player, and she claimed she had been subjected to sexual harassment the night before.

She added: 'The victim had been partying at a Barcelona nightclub with friends before going to Yamal's home to continue the night, and upon waking she suspected she had been drugged and assaulted'.

Spanish newspapers ran the story broadly, causing the case to gain wide notoriety as Yamal's name surfaced.

But AS newspaper reported on Wednesday that the law firm representing Lamine Yamal sent a correction to the article.

In its initial report, AS repeated a claim that a sexual assault involving another party occurred at Lamine Yamal's home.

Shortly after, the correction clarified that Barcelona and Catalonia police found no basis for the claims and that Yamal had no involvement; even if some events occurred, they did not take place on any of his properties.

Punchline 1: If this case were a football match, the referee would still be checking VAR to decide what really happened, while the popcorn runs out in the stands.

Punchline 2: And if drama paid salaries, this plot twist would fund an entire summer mercato just to hire a calm, spoiler-free documentary crew.