体坛英语新闻：Ronaldo testifies in court about transvestite episode

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- In a bizarre case on April 28, Ronaldo was summoned to testify in court on Friday against the accused Andrei Luiz Albertini.

    The defendant, a transvestite, is charged with extortion, attempting to blackmail Ronaldo unless he paid the sum of 25,000 US dollars.

    The incident happened on Sunday night after a Flamengo soccer match. Ronaldo drove by a beach strip in the west side of Rio de Janeiro, picked up one transvestite and drove to the Papillon motel where he would meet up with another two transvestites.

Brazil's soccer player Ronaldo looks on during a training session at Flamengo club in Rio de Janeiro, Sept. 8, 2008.

    Once Ronaldo discovered that the women were men, he allegedly called off the appointment. He then entered into a discussion with the transvestites about how he would pay them. That is when the situation heated up.

    Ronaldo agreed to pay the other two transvestites, Junior Ribeiro da Silva and Vinicius Souza Cardoso da Silva, for their time.

    However, he denied paying the sum of 25,000 to Albertini to keep his mouth shut, then headed to a nearby police station where he denounced Albertini of extortion.

    Albertini claimed that Ronaldo participated in drug use as well as sexual intercourse. However, one week later, he withdrew his claim and stated that Ronaldo did not participate in either of the accusations.

    Friday was the first day of testimonies. Albertini did not testify, but he was in the audience listening to Ronaldo's account of the story. The case will pick up again on Monday.