*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:45, 2 January 2019 (UTC)
Alexis Joel Zárate Maldonado (born 8 May 1994) is an Argentine former footballer who played as a right back.[2]
Club career
Zárate's career started with Independiente in 2013, making his professional bow during a win over Boca Unidos in the Copa Argentina on 22 May; his first league appearance arrived a month later against Colón.[2][3] Zárate scored the first goal of his career versus Godoy Cruz in October 2014.[2] On 1 January 2016, fellow Argentine Primera División team Temperley loaned Zárate until December 2017.[2] He scored goals against Huracán and Colón throughout thirty-one appearances for Temperley.[2] In January 2018, Latvian Higher League side FK Liepāja completed the signing of Zárate.[2] He made his debut in a March win over Riga FC.[2]
In September 2017, Zárate was found guilty of rape.[4][5][6] However, he remained at liberty during the appeals process and was allowed to join Latvia's FK Liepāja in March 2018.[4][5][6] Zárate's appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Argentina on 3 December 2018, with final sentencing awaiting determination..[7][8][9] A year later, on 5 December 2019, a court in Buenos Aires ruled against Zárate's second appeal.[10] Despite this, a request for Zárate’s arrest was denied by a Lomas de Zamora court; with the Supreme Court case still pending.[11] On 3 July 2020, Zárate was taken into custody after his appeal was dismissed and jailed to serve his six-and-a-half-year sentence.[12][13] He submitted an additional complaint appeal to the Supreme Court, which was denied on 16 June 2022 and the ex-football player will have to spend his six-and-a-half years sentence imprisoned.[12][13]
