Charlotte FC, Andre Shinyashiki mutually part ways after sexual assault allegation
Andre Shinyashiki is leaving the Queen City.
Charlotte FC and Andre Shinyashiki have mutually agreed to terminate the forward’s contract, the club announced on Tuesday. The 26-year-old Brazilian has since signed to play for Neftçi PFK in Azerbaijan.
The roster move made by Charlotte’s MLS franchise comes a few months after Shinyashiki acknowledged a media report that linked him to a sexual assault case.
Back in May, The Charlotte Ledger asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police for any incident reports involving Shinyashiki, and a department official provided the outlet with a two-page incident report. That report referenced an alleged sexual assault — and an open investigation — stemming from a Feb. 26 incident.
Shinyashiki’s name does not appear in the report, nor has he been charged with a crime.
The player addressed the Ledger story in a tweet.
“I fully cooperated with Charlotte Police and MLS in their separate investigations related to the incident, and no charges have been filed against me,” Shinyashiki wrote May 2. “I’ve also been cleared by MLS to play.”
Shinyashiki didn’t see the pitch for Charlotte FC after April 8.
The forward from Sao Paolo, Brazil — who started a bulk of the first part of the 2023 season — was once considered an important part of Charlotte’s future. The 2019 MLS Rookie of the Year was traded to Charlotte in May 2022 from Colorado, and he was quickly embraced by the team and the team’s fans.
A lot of that had to do with his goal-scoring ability — he scored six goals in 21 games in Charlotte’s inaugural 2022 season — but a lot of that also had to do with his unique bravado on the pitch. The team found him valuable enough to re-sign him to a multi-year deal in August 2022 before that contract was terminated Tuesday.
Charlotte sits 12th in MLS’s Eastern Conference table with a record of six wins, nine losses and eight draws — a decent record considering the team has allowed the most goals and recorded the most yellow cards in the league.
The club is on a break from MLS regular season play until Aug. 20. Until then, the Queen City side will continue playing in the inaugural Leagues Cup tournament: Charlotte will next travel to Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, to take on Cruz Azul of Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football.
