FOR DIAZ ARCE AND GORI, ARRESTS HIT HOME (2024)

J. Elliott Van Dyne, a lawyer who represented Gori and Diaz Arce at the arraignment hearing Aug. 18, said the two athletes are innocent. If convicted, Gori and Diaz Arce could each receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, prosecutors said. Meanwhile, Gori and Diaz Arce are free on $500,000 bond apiece and remain active members of United. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. in Franklin County Municipal Court.

From Washington to Argentina to El Salvador, the arrests have brought strong statements of support from people close to Gori and Diaz Arce, who arrived in Washington in the spring of 1996 and helped United win Major League Soccer's first championship last October.

"Mario called me when he got out {of jail} and said, Mom, trust me. Have faith,' " Gori's mother, Beatriz Gori, said in a telephone interview from Rosario, Argentina. "I have faith in God and I know he's innocent."

"I was in disbelief when I heard about this, complete disbelief," Ana Cristina Sol, El Salvador's ambassador to the United States from 1994 until last month, said by phone from San Salvador. "Raul is not the kind of person -- at all -- that I could ever associate with something as horrible as what they have been accused of. . . . Raul is a calm person, not a violent person."

Last week, an editorial in the San Salvador newspaper La Prensa Grafica read in part: "It is possible that {star athletes} can become infected by the image they project and can even claim the right to do anything, taking a false step that will disillusion" the public. "For our part, we know this is not the case of Raul Diaz Arce."

The arrests of Gori and Diaz Arce and subsequent media coverage brought this reaction from United Coach Bruce Arena, who, after pondering the televised image of the two athletes wearing jail clothing, said in an interview: "If this does turn out to be false, they'll never get their names back. You can't. That {image} will always linger in people's minds."

La Prensa Grafica noted: "When the North American television cameras caught {Diaz Arce} in their lens, next to fellow player Mario Gori, wearing jail clothes . . . we felt a great sadness, a sentiment we know to be collective, because Salvadorans are worried about this event." The Incident

The incident allegedly took place early on the morning of Aug. 17 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Columbus, where United had played a game the previous day. At about 1 a.m. the alleged victim -- a 24-year-old Ohio woman -- was seen in the hotel's lobby area with several United players, including Gori and Diaz Arce, according to team sources. Police said the woman stated she had "talked and drank" with Gori, Diaz Arce and other members of the team.

Gori and Diaz Arce have declined to discuss the case on advice of their lawyer, according to United officials. The Post does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

Between 2 and 2:40 that morning, the woman was invited to Room 815 to make a phone call, according to the complaint and testimony by a Columbus detective at the arraignment hearing. Inside the room, Gori allegedly forced the woman to perform oral sex, and Diaz Arce allegedly held the woman down on a bed while the rape was committed, according to the complaint. The athletes were arrested later that morning after the alleged victim identified them from team photos, police said.

Since its debut at RFK Stadium 16 months ago, United has portrayed itself as a "unifying force" in ethnically diverse Washington -- an organization that supports "civic minded and community efforts to better the place in which we live," according to the club's 1997 media guide.

"There is a serious side to this business that carries with it a tremendous responsibility because athletes tend to be such public figures," United president and general manager Kevin Payne said in the media guide. "Our players and our organization say a lot both by what we do and don't do."

Last week, Payne and Arena described Diaz Arce and Gori as exemplary citizens who often speak to youth groups about staying in school. "I know the Columbus police are trying to do their job the right way," Arena said. "And these kinds of crimes are very sensitive and very politically oriented in this day and age. Who knows? We'll see. The only one who knows the truth is Raul and Mario. And the woman."

A portrait of Gori and Diaz Arce emerges from interviews with people close to the two athletes. Diaz Arce agreed to provide some details about his life in an interview last week. Raul Diaz Arce

Since arriving here last year from El Salvador to play for United, Diaz Arce, who is married with a 2-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter, has become an admired figure in Washington's Latino community.

He has been cheered at RFK Stadium, feted at embassy parties, praised by El Salvador President Armando Calderon Sol and named 1997 Latin of the year by Washington's El Tiempo Latino newspaper.

"Raul was one of the leaders of the {Salvadoran} community in Washington who I always invited to my house," said former ambassador Sol, now a member of Calderon's cabinet. "I always considered Raul a very, very hard-working young man who was a good father and very close to his family."

Diaz Arce also has been a key figure in El Salvador's attempt to rebuild its national soccer team, which is competing for a berth in the 1998 World Cup in France. The civil war that ravaged El Salvador in the 1980s dealt a harsh blow to the country's most beloved sport.

"The war affected one whole generation of soccer players," Mauricio Cienfuegos, a Salvadoran star of MSL's Los Angeles Galaxy, said during a visit to Washington last weekend. "Many future players were killed, many had to leave the country and many of those who stayed couldn't even practice because it was too dangerous."

Born in San Miguel (population: 183,000), the third-largest city in El Salvador, Diaz Arce is the oldest of his parents' four children. His mother, Marlene de la Paz Arce, is a school teacher in San Miguel. His father, Raul Diaz Rivera, died of cancer in 1987.

"Growing up, we had some {economic} problems but not that bad because I started making money playing soccer when I was 15," Diaz Arce said last week. "My first salary was $100 a month." Diaz Arce was married at 19 when he was playing for a second-division pro team in his home town. In 1991, the 5-foot-9, 160-pound forward signed with a first-division team, Firpo, and became one of El Salvador's most prolific scorers.

In February 1996, newly formed D.C. United -- anxious to draw fans from Washington's sizable Salvadorean community -- selected Diaz Arce in the first round of the first MLS draft. Diaz Arce signed a one-year, $79,000 contract, according to a league source, then made an endorsem*nt deal with Nike. He scored 23 goals in the regular season last year -- second best in the league -- and has 14 goals this season, which is tied for the league lead.

Diaz Arce lives with his wife, Marie Antonieta, and two children in a rented apartment in Herndon, not far from United's headquarters at the former Redskin Park. "Raul is very reserved," said United defender Jeff Agoos. "Some of the players get together to have barbecues, but Raul usually feels it'd be better to spend that time with his family."

"We are in shock," Eduardo Torres, an aide to El Salvador president Calderon, said in a phone interview after the arrests were announced last week. "Salvador is a small country, and Raul means a lot to us. We know Raul very well and we just cannot understand what happened." Mario Gori

Unlike Diaz Arce, Mario Gori is little known in his home country. He was raised in the industrial city of Rosario, the son of a convenience store owner. The 5-7, 160-pound defender signed his first pro soccer contract when he was 20, members of his family said, and was a substitute for Rosario Central in Argentina's first division.

Gori signed a one-year, $90,000 deal with United after a tryout in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in January 1996. "Mario we just thought was a hard-working, honest guy with great work ethic and a passion to play. And he is," Arena said. At the townhouse he rents in Herndon, Gori has been learning to speak English with audiotapes and videotapes.

In January, Gori married his girlfriend of many years, Veronica, at a ceremony attended by 400 people in Rosario. They are expecting a child early next year.

Among teammates, Gori is known as an enthusiastic barbecue chef who delights in preparing Argentine-style parrilladas. He returned to United's lineup early this month after being sidelined all season with a knee injury and scored a goal against the Galazy.

Eight days later, Gori and his Salvadoran teammate found themselves in the Franklin County jail. A conviction on the felony charges could result in their deportation from the United States and end their MLS careers.

"The status of a sports professional has not only roses but also thorns, and many times these can hurt," La Prensa Grafica noted in a column about the arrests. "A distinguished sports figure achieves high summits, travels, is greeted by authorities without delay, is front and center in the newspapers. Everything is possible as part of the glittery show that envelops professional sports. "But it's also necessary to understand that the boundaries of his domain end on the field when the referee whistles the end of the game. After that, he is a citizen like any other." Staff writer Janina de Guzman in Washington and special correspondent Santiago O'Donnell in Buenos Aires contributed to this report. CAPTION: A newspaper editorial in El Salvador voiced support for Raul Diaz Arce, who arrived in U.S. last year. CAPTION: Unlike his teammate, Mario Gori was not a big star in his homeland, Argentina, when he left last year. CAPTION: The day after the players were arrested, there was a banner at RFK Stadium expressing support for Mario Gori and Raul Diaz Arce saying, "We are with you."