Manchester United’s Antony has been removed from the Brazilian national football team squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers due to serious allegations of domestic violence, the Brazilian football federation CBF has said.
“As a result of the facts that came to light on Monday (04/09) involving Manchester United striker Antony, and which needed to be investigated.
“To preserve the alleged victim, the Brazilian national team and the CBF… the athlete has been dismissed from the Seleçao,’’ the Brazilian federation said in a statement.
The CBF said that the 23-year-old, whose full name is Antony Matheus dos Santos, would be replaced by Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus in the squad for Brazil’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia and Peru.
Brazilian media had previously reported the allegations made by Antony’s former girlfriend of physical assault.
According to the sports portal Globoesporte, the case was already the subject of a police investigation when Antony was called up to the squad.
But the content of some of the allegations had not yet been made public.
The player again denied the allegations on Instagram on Monday.
Five-time world champions Brazil would face Bolivia in Belém on Friday and Peru in Lima on Tuesday in their opening qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.
