Former Barcelona participant Dani Alves gained his appeal towards a sexual assault conviction as a Spanish court overturned the ruling Friday (March 28, 2025).
Alves was discovered responsible in February 2024 of raping a lady in a nightclub in December 2022 and sentenced to 4 years, six months in jail. The former Brazil and Barcelona defender denied wrongdoing throughout the three-day trial.
That court dominated on Friday (March 28, 2025) that there was “insufficient evidence” to rule out Alves’ presumption of innocence.
The Alves trial was the primary high-profile case since Spain overhauled its legal guidelines in 2022 to make consent central to defining a intercourse crime in response to an upswell of protests after a gang-rape case throughout the San Fermin bull-running pageant in Pamplona in 2016.
The laws, popularly often known as the “only yes means yes” regulation, defines consent as an express expression of an individual’s will, making it clear that silence or passivity don’t equal consent.
But the 4 judges of a Barcelona-based appeals court dominated unanimously to overturn the conviction. In their ruling, they wrote that the testimony of the plaintiff “differed notably” from the proof of video footage taken earlier than the girl and Alves entered the lavatory the place she mentioned he compelled her to have intercourse with out her consent.
Alves, now 41, was stored in jail from Jan. 20, 2023 till March 2024 till he was launched after paying 1 million euros (then $1.2 million) for bail whereas awaiting his appeal. He additionally handed over his passports, with prosecutors having argued towards releasing him on bail due to a potential flight threat.
Prosecutors needed his jail sentence elevated to 9 years whereas the sufferer’s lawyer needed him to remain behind bars for 12 years.
This resolution may very well be appealed to the Spanish supreme court in Madrid.
Alves was some of the profitable gamers of his era and gained dozens of titles with elite golf equipment together with Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. He additionally helped Brazil win two Copa Americas and an Olympic gold medal at age 38. He performed at his third World Cup, the one main title he hasn’t gained, in 2022. He performed for Barcelona from 2008-16, serving to the crew win three Champions Leagues and 6 Spanish leagues, and briefly rejoined the membership in 2022. He nonetheless has a residence close to the town.
He was with Mexican membership Pumas when he was arrested. Pumas terminated his contract instantly.
Published – March 28, 2025 05:18 pm IST
