Cape Verde World Cup captain accused of raping the team's translator

Cape Verde captain Ryan Mendes has been accused of raping a woman working as the team's translator during a recent trip.

Mendes, 36, allegedly sexually assaulted a Brazilian woman who had been hired to work as a translator for the team's trip to New Zealand in March.

The alleged incident occurred at a hotel where the Cape Verdean team was staying in Auckland.

According to Brazilian outlet Globo, the woman, who has not been identified, was hired by Cape Verde to work during the FIFA Series earlier this year.

She alleges that she was attacked after being invited to a meeting in a hotel room following a match against Chile on March 27.

Upon her arrival at the meeting, she realised that it was a social gathering, not an official meeting, and decided to leave.

The woman alleges that Mendes then followed her back to her hotel room and forced his way into the room as she opened the door after he had knocked.

According to a statement given to the New Zealand police, as reported by Globo, Mendes then choked her, punched her, bit her, and proceeded to rape her.

Following the attack, she took photos which were provided to the Brazilian outlet showing bruising on her neck.

Later, she attended a clinic for survivors of sexual violence for treatment and, following a forensic exam, bruises were found on her neck, breasts, lips, and a genital exam found "two circular lesions, painful to the touch.”

The results of this exam were sent to the New Zealand Police on April 10.

She alleges that she also reported the incident to at least three officials from Cape Verde's football authority but didn't receive a response.

On May 10, the woman and her husband then sent complaints to the Cape Verdean Football Federation and FIFA, including the medial report as evidence of the alleged rape.

They requested that Mendes be banned from competing at the World Cup, but claims she didn't receive a response from FIFA.

In a statement given to SPORTbible, a FIFA spokesperson confirmed that it is "in contact with the New Zealand authorities, but "cannot comment further at this stage."

“FIFA takes any allegation of misconduct extremely seriously and has a clear process in place for anyone in football who wants to report an incident," the spokesperson added.

SPORTbible have reached out to FIFA, Cape Verde Football Association and the New Zealand police for comment.