Alianza Lima, one of the most popular teams in Peru, on Thursday (22) removed three players from the Peruvian national team for an indefinite period due to allegations of sexual abuse against a young Argentine woman in Montevideo.
Defenders Carlos Zambrano (ex-Boca Juniors) and Miguel Trauco (ex-Flamengo), and midfielder Sergio Peña (ex-Malmö) were removed from the team that will face Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on Saturday (24), in a friendly in Lima.
“The club has indefinitely removed (…) the players involved, against whom an internal disciplinary procedure has been initiated,” the club said in a statement.
Alianza Lima’s sporting director, Franco Navarro, confirmed that the decision to remove the players was due to “indiscipline” in “allowing women to enter the hotel, a place that is sacred for the team’s concentration.”
“This type of indiscipline should never have occurred. We will not tolerate this type of behavior,” Navarro told RPP radio.
Despite the incident, Navarro confirmed that Alianza will host Messi’s Inter Miami on Saturday afternoon at the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium.
“We need to quickly put all these issues behind us, issues that we don’t like to discuss,” he added.
The Buenos Aires City Police informed AFP that the three Peruvian players were reported by a 22-year-old woman for “sexual abuse on January 18, 2026”.
The woman said she was attacked at the Hyatt Centric Hotel, in Montevideo, where Alianza ended its pre-season on Sunday (18).
According to Argentine news channel A24, the young woman reported that she knew Zambrano, 36, and that she had dinner with him before going to the hotel where the team was staying. Trauco, 33, and Peña, 30, reportedly entered the room next.
The police added that the complainant returned to Argentina and that on January 21 she went to the Muñiz Hospital, “where she expressed her desire to initiate criminal proceedings.”
In a statement, Peña categorically denied any involvement “in the criminal acts mentioned in the complaint.”
“I am fully aware of the seriousness of the complaint. Therefore, I want to express my total respect and empathy for the complainant. I strongly condemn any form of abuse or violence against women”, declared the player.
Protest at Alianza stadium
As part of the legal proceedings, the woman handed over the clothes she wore on the night of the attack to be subjected to technical expertise and DNA analysis.
“Our institution expresses its absolute willingness to collaborate with the authorities while the corresponding investigations are carried out,” declared Alianza Lima.
The players were removed on Thursday morning during training at Alejandro Villanueva, in the La Victoria neighborhood of Lima.
After learning of the complaint, around 50 Alianza Lima fans violently invaded the stadium.
Videos published on social media by fans show the moment they surpassed the security zone and invaded the field, shouting insults aimed mainly at Zambrano.
According to the local sports press, fans also attacked striker Paolo Guerrero and defender Luis Advíncula (ex-Boca Juniors).
“Players like these do not represent us and we do not want them at the club. We will not tolerate indiscipline, no matter where they come from. They never respected the shirt”, declared Comando Sur, a group of Alianza Lima fans, on their social networks.
Zambrano, Trauco and Peña were starters for the Peruvian team in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The team, led by Argentine Pablo Guede, ended an eight-day pre-season in Uruguay on Sunday, where they faced Argentine clubs Independiente and Unión, as well as Chilean Colo Colo.
Alianza will face Paraguayan club 2 de Mayo in the first phase of the Copa Libertadores.
