Petronella Ekroth: Cristiano Ronaldo Rape Case Talk 'Forbidden' at Juventus

Petronella Ekroth has said she felt "a bit like I was in prison" during her time at Juventus and revealed players were "forbidden to talk about" Cristiano Ronaldo's rape case.

Ekroth, 29, played for Juventus' women's side last term as they won a Serie A and Coppa Italia double.

The defender has now returned to her native Sweden to play for Djurgardens.

In October of the 2018-19 campaign, just months after Juve had signed Ronaldo from Real Madrid for £99.2 million, Las Vegas police confirmed they had reopened an investigation into Kathryn Mayorga's 2009 accusation that Ronaldo raped her in a hotel room, per the Guardian.

Ronaldo denied the allegation, and Juventus publicly backed him:

Ekroth has now said players at the club were not allowed to discuss the accusation, per Swedish outlet Expressen (h/t Football Italia):

"I tried to look at things with a broader perspective, improving as a footballer and as a human being. In the end I was right to stay, even if there were several strange things going on. My vision of how to treat people is different to theirs.

"I don't think foreign women players were treated like the Italian women. There were situations where I sometimes wondered if I was on Candid Camera. Then I got used to it. I understand that there are different ways to manage things, but some of them aren't good.

"We were forbidden to talk about the case. We stayed silent and we couldn't mention it. The only thing to do was keep a low profile and work towards the club's values. I kept myself closeted because I felt that my opinions didn't count. It felt a bit like I was in prison. I really couldn't do everything I wanted."

Ekroth, who had only ever played in Sweden before her move to Italy, added she "felt like I could lose a part of myself" at Juve.

The 29-year-old was questioned about her comments in an exchange on Twitter and offered some insight into her situation:

Like their men's team, the Old Lady finished the 2018-19 campaign as Serie A champions, finishing four points ahead of Fiorentina.

It was their second title win in succession following the establishment of the side in 2017.

Eight Juve players were in Italy's squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup earlier this summer, when Le Azzurre impressed by reaching the quarter-finals, matching their best result at the tournament. 

Djurgardens, meanwhile, finished eighth in the 2018 Damallsvenskan and are currently in the same position after eight games of the 2019 season.