Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo will not be in the lineup when Portugal faces Poland and Scotland during the international break. Ronaldo, 33, is dealing with rape accusations from Kathryn Mayorga, and has firmly denied her story while calling rape “abominable.” [ MORE: Atlanta eyes Almiron replacement ] Ronaldo was not called up for the last international break in order to give him time to adjust to Juve, and coach Fernando Santos has called up a similar squad and refused to give an explanation for the move, so there’s certainly no guarantee the absence is linked to the rape claims. Portugal is home to Poland for the UEFA Nations League match — the Scotland game is a friendly — after beating Italy 1-0 in the tournament opener. Portugal, of course, won the EURO final despite Ronaldo going down with an injury and has plenty of depth in attack to weather his absence against Robert Lewandowski and Poland. Goncalo Guedes, Andre Silva, and Bernardo Silva are among the top attack options. Follow @NicholasMendola<doc-sep>Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been left off the Portugal national team for their upcoming matches amid a resurfaced rape allegation against him. Ronaldo was accused of rape by Kathryn Mayorga, who claimed the player assaulted her in Las Vegas in 2009. He has vehemently denied the accusation. The Portuguese captain, who has been capped a record 154 times for his country, was left off the team for their second game in the UEFA Nations League at Poland on Oct. 11 and a friendly match against Scotland in Glasgow on Oct. 14. He will also not be called up for international games in November, Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. Santos said the decision to leave Ronaldo off the national team came after a discussion between him, Ronaldo and the chief of the Portuguese soccer federation, Fernando Gomes. RONALDO SLAMS LAS VEGAS WOMAN'S RAPE ACCUSATION AS 'FAKE NEWS' “We agreed the player wouldn't be available, wouldn't be an option for selection,” Santos said. “For the next two squad selections, this one and the one next month, Ronaldo won't be with us.” Santos said he would play again for Portugal eventually. Ronaldo had been under fire since Mayorga went public with her claim that the 33-year-old superstar raped her. Ronaldo called the accusation “fake news” in an Instagram Live recording Sunday. Mayorga, 34, of Las Vegas, claims Ronaldo raped her in a bathroom at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in June 2009, The Sun reported. She claims in the court papers that Ronaldo apologized to her after he raped her, according to the Sun. “I can't remember exactly what he said but he said sorry, asking if I had pain, the paper quoted her as saying in the court document. “Then he went down on his knees and said: '99% of me is a good guy, I just don’t know about the other 1%.’” She said she filed a rape report with Las Vegas police the next day, according to the paper. The documents claim Ronaldo confirmed the pair had sex, but said it was consensual, the paper reported. CRISTIANO RONALDO DEAL WITH JUVENTUS HAS FIAT WORKERS PLANNING STRIKE Reuters reported Saturday that Ronaldo’s lawyers are threatening to sue German magazine Der Spiegel for publishing Mayorga’s graphic allegations. The article ran Friday. One of the lawyers said the Der Siegel article was “an inadmissible reporting of suspicions in the area of privacy,” Reuters reported. Reuters quoted the magazine and Mayorga’s attorney, Leslie Stovall, as saying that woman signed a confidentiality agreement in exchange for a $375,000 payment from Ronaldo. Fox News generally does not name sex assault victims, but Mayorga gave her name to Der Spiegel for her interview, and she is named as the plaintiff in the court papers filed in Las Vegas. The 31-page lawsuit accuses Ronaldo and the other named defendants of participating in a “conspiracy to obstruct the criminal investigation and prosecution of Cristiano Ronaldo” for the alleged sexual assault, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported Saturday. The Sun quoted Stovall as saying that he filed the lawsuit seeking to declare the confidential agreement void. Mayorga did not answer telephone calls to her home, Reuters reported. Ronaldo plays for Italian powerhouse Juventus and had three assists in a win Saturday. Fox News’ Robert Gearty and the Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Cristiano Ronaldo runs for the ball during a Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid CF game on April 26, 2015. Cristiano Ronaldo has been left off Portugal's national team squad for a pair of upcoming matches, the decision coming as the soccer great fights rape allegations in the United States. Ronaldo has been accused of rape by Kathryn Mayorga, who says the player assaulted her in Las Vegas in 2009. He has denied the accusation. Ronaldo was left off the squad for Portugal's second game in the UEFA Nations League at Poland on Oct. 11 and a friendly match in Glasgow against Scotland three days later. The Juventus forward also missed Portugal's first two post-World Cup matches last month, with coach Fernando Santos saying Ronaldo had only just moved to the Italian club and was still settling down there. Santos used the 33-year-old team captain's absence last month to try out younger players.<doc-sep>
Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of Portugal's squad for two upcoming matches as he fights a rape allegation. The star footballer will not play for his national team in its second game of the UEFA Nations League in Poland on 11 October. He will also miss a friendly match in Glasgow against Scotland three days later. The decision comes days after teacher Kathryn Mayorga, 34, claimed the Juventus forward raped her in June 2009 in a Las Vegas hotel room. Ronaldo, 33, tweeted on Wednesday that he "firmly" denies the accusation - his first direct denial of the allegations. Image: Ronaldo and his girlfriend (left) went to watch his club Juventus play on Tuesday "Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in," the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star said. "Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense. "My clear conscious (sic) will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations." Image: Leslie Stovall said his client, Kathryn Mayorga, had had a difficult time over the last nine years Portugal coach Fernando Santos said the decision to omit Ronaldo was made with him, the player and the head of the Portuguese soccer federation. "We agreed the player wouldn't be available, wouldn't be an option for selection," Mr Santos said. "For the next two squad selections, this one and the one next month, Ronaldo won't be with us." Santos also said he believed Ronaldo's denials. A lawsuit has been filed by the woman against Ronaldo, and police in Las Vegas have reopened their investigation. The lawsuit claims Ms Mayorga was coerced into signing a $375,000 (£332,000) out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo in 2010. She wants the agreement to be declared void and said she gained the courage to speak out because of the #MeToo movement. Her lawyer said on Wednesday that Ms Mayorga wants to avoid the cameras because of her emotional state. Image: Cristiano Ronaldo played for Real Madrid before transferring to Juventus in the summer He said since the alleged sexual assault she has suffered from "major" depression and PTSD. Ronaldo's lawyers say reporting of the allegations and details of the settlement in the German publication Der Spiegel was "blatantly illegal". He missed Portugal's first two post-World Cup matches last month, as he was still settling in after his move from Real Madrid, Mr Santos said.