Portland Timbers midfielder Andy Polo has had his contract terminated by the club following allegations of domestic abuse.
“The Timbers were previously aware of a dispute between Andy Polo and his partner on May 23, 2021, that resulted in the Washington County Sherriff’s Office citing Polo for harassment,” the statement reads. “That citation was not subsequently pursued by the victim or the prosecutor’s office.”
The club confirms it was aware of the allegations against Polo:
— Charlie Folkestad (@folkestad3) February 10, 2022
"We deeply regret not suspending Polo immediately, especially considering the troubling new details of abuse that surfaced this week. It was a failure on our part, and one that will never happen again."#RCTID https://t.co/wYwxd1YE1H
Polo’s ex-girlfriend and mother of his children, Genessis Alarcon, made the allegations on “Magaly TV, La Firme,” one of Peru’s most popular television shows.
Alarcon gave details of the alleged abuse, including Polo pulling her hair and giving her a black eye. She also said Polo refused to pay child support. The full 34-minute segment can be viewed here.
The Timbers released a stern statement about Polo on Wednesday.
The Timbers have put out a statement on Andy Polo and his status with the team. #RCTID pic.twitter.com/h4Jxo1bi5E
— William Conwell (@williamconwell) February 9, 2022
Polo released a statement of his own on Thursday denying the allegations.
VERY rough translation of Polo's explanation (I literally just scanned the doc and put it through google translate).
— Charlie Folkestad (@folkestad3) February 10, 2022
"The complaints are unfounded and are due to a strategy by the mother of my minor."
This doesn't look good.#RCTID https://t.co/vYMYUgfKHe pic.twitter.com/lPFcKzczYv
Niko Moreno translated further details from Alarcon’s interview Thursday morning. Moreno suggests members of the Portland Timbers organization knew about the allegations against Polo soon after they occurred.
was asked if I could translate some of what Andy Polo's wife had said on the Peruvian talk show she was on. Woke up out of nowhere, so I will leave a thread below of what she said on the Magally TV show about what allegedly happened with the Timbers winger, now suspended by #MLS
— Niko Moreno (@ELROLONW) February 10, 2022
The biggest bombshell comes at the end of that thread. According to Moreno’s translation, Alarcon said that “Now [the Timbers] are acting clueless but they knew from the beginning.”
Polo suffered a season-ending leg injury in May of 2021. He earned $500k in guaranteed compensation last season, per the MLS Players’ Association.
