The former Sunderland player accused
of raping a woman he met in a nightclub said she wanted to have sex with him.
He denies the allegations - two
counts of rape - against him as he stands trial at Hull Crown Court.
Today, the FC Zurich midfielder said
he was not being 'persistent, forceful and aggressive' and said he stopped
having sex with the woman when she asked him to.
The woman had previously told the
jury that Cabral pinned her down on his bed and raped her after they met during
a night out in Newcastle.
But the footballer said there was an
attraction between them and told the court they kissed and danced together
before going back to his home with friends.
He said the woman asked him to go
into the bedroom, where they began to have sex.
When asked about her behaviour,
Cabral said: 'It was normal. It was a normal girl who wanted to have sex with
me.
'It seemed to me she was used to
doing this as she was in no way ashamed.'
When Kitty Taylor, defending, asked
him if he ever thought that the woman did not want to be doing what she was
doing, if she was uncomfortable or if she protested, Cabral replied 'no'.
He told the court that he removed
all of his clothes except for his socks and that he and the woman had sex in
two different positions.
Speaking through an interpreter,
Cape Verde-born Cabral told the jury that the woman asked him to stop after
around 15 minutes because she was tired.
He said he stopped and told her to
'f*** off' in French because he felt 'frustrated'.
Cabral, who has a fiancee and a
three-year-old son who live in Switzerland, told the court he got dressed and
returned to the others in the living room, where he sent a message to a woman
he described as a 'sex buddy'.
He said the complainant later left
his flat with the others and was upset because she thought her mother would be
angry with her.
Cabral told the court there were
always girls in the VIP areas of clubs that he could take home for consensual
sex.
He said he did not understand what
was happening when the police arrived at his home.
He said: 'I've never been in that
situation, ever. I've never done something wrong in my life.'
Mrs Taylor asked him: 'Did you feel
you had done anything wrong with (the woman)?'
Cabral said: 'No.'
She asked: 'Did you rape her?'
The defendant again replied: 'No.'
The court heard that Cabral shares
his earnings with family members in Switzerland and Cape Verde.
He said: 'My family depends on my
football. Football is all my life. Football is all I can do.'
Mrs Taylor asked: 'Have you ever
done anything in your life to risk that?'
Cabral answered: 'Never.'
In cross-examination, Neil Usher,
prosecuting, suggested that Varela was 'expecting something in return' from the
woman after he spent around £1,200 on drinks, including a jeroboam of vodka.
The defendant said: 'No, never.'
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