Dani Alves, the long-term star player of Barcelona and the Brazilian national football team, was convicted of rape. The crime took place in the bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub.
STT Sports,
Mika Halonen
Dani Alves was sentenced on Thursday in Spain to 4.5 years in prison for rape. The court found Alves guilty of raping a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub on December 31, 2022.
Alves changed his testimony about the night’s events several times. Among other things, he said that he met the woman in the toilets, but denied that anything had happened between them. Later, Alves said that the sex was consensual.
The court ordered 40-year-old Alves to pay his victim EUR 150,000 in compensation. After his prison sentence, Alves will be on parole for five years. The prosecutor demanded nine years in prison, followed by ten years of parole.
In Spain, rape convictions can lead to 4–15 years in prison.
The unnamed victim said at the beginning of February at the court hearing that Alves had forcibly forced her to have sex. The woman had also repeatedly begged that Alves would let her go. According to the police officers who testified in court, the woman had been “in shock†after the incident.
– The court considers it a proven fact that the defendant grabbed the plaintiff suddenly, threw him to the ground and prevented him from moving during intercourse, even though the plaintiff said “no†and wanted to leave, in the court’s statement was stated.
Alves claimed that he and the woman had consensual sex. Alves denied hitting the woman and grabbing her by the hair.
In its verdict, the court took into account Alves’ decision to pay the victim EUR 150,000 in damages regardless of the outcome of the trial. However, the court did not accept the lawyers’ argument that Alves should have been given a lighter sentence because he was drunk.
Alves’s wife Joana Sanz told the court that Alves had appeared very intoxicated when he had arrived home in Barcelona on the night of the incident.
Regarded as one of the best full-backs of all time, Alves played in Barcelona between 2008–2016 and won 23 trophies for the club. In the Brazilian national team, Alves played 126 matches between 2006–2022.
Alves won six league titles and three Champions Leagues in Barcelona. In addition, Alves celebrated, for example, the Italian championship in Juventus, the French championship in PSG and the Copa America victory in a Brazilian shirt.
Alves last represented the Mexican club Pumas, who canceled the player’s contract in January 2023 after the arrest.
Sources: STT Sports, BBC