Police dismiss rape claim against Hapoel TA players

Young woman had claimed Douglas da Silva, Itai Shechter raped her in their hotel room.

By ALLON SINAI
Itai Shechter airport 248.88 (photo credit: Channal 2)
Itai Shechter airport 248.88
(photo credit: Channal 2)
Hapoel Tel Aviv players Itai Shechter and Douglas da Silva returned to Israel on Saturday afternoon after a nerve-wracking 24 hours in Sweden during which they were questioned in connection with a rape investigation. Shechter, who scored on his debut in Hapoel's 3-1 victory over IFK Göteborg in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round on Thursday, and Brazilian defender da Silva were detained at the Göteborg Airport and questioned for over 10 hours at a local police station after a woman claimed she had been raped by the two. However, the police investigation quickly cleared Shechter and da Silva of any wrongdoing and the two were allowed to return to Israel a day after their teammates. "It was all taken out of proportion," Shechter said upon his arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport. "We are happy to be back in Israel and we are looking forward to Sunday's match in the Toto Cup. There is nothing like being in the Holy Land." Shechter and da Silva will meet with club management on Sunday and may be disciplined, although Hapoel coach Eli Gutman allowed the players to go out after Thursday's match. "I told the players they could go out for three hours," said Gutman, who named both Shechter and da Silva in his squad for Sunday's Toto Cup opener against Bnei Yehuda.