Former Barcelona and Brazil football player Dani Alves has been sentenced to four years and six months for the rape of a 23-year-old woman at a nightclub in Barcelona in December 2022.
A written statement from the National Court of Barcelona states that the victim did not consent to have sexual relations with Alves and that the evidence presented to the court, along with the victim’s testimony, proved that she had been raped. Alves denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyer, Inés Guardiola, stated that she will appeal.
The prosecution sought a nine-year sentence, and the victim’s legal team requested 12. Alves’s sentence is slightly above the minimum of four years, and since he has completed a quarter of his sentence in pre-trial detention, he may soon be released.
The former player was ordered to pay 9,000 euros for physical damages to the victim and offered to pay 150,000 euros in compensation, which the court considered a mitigating circumstance when issuing the sentence. He will be under legal supervision for another five years and will also have a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim for nine years and six months.
Spain’s 2022 legislation states that “the proof of the existence of sexual assault does not depend on the existence of physical injuries nor the heroic opposition of the victim to the maintenance of sexual relations.”
Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister, Yolanda Díaz, expressed hope that the sentence would serve as an example. “This has ended in our country; enough of machismo and sexual assault that we, women, suffer in all areas of life,” she said.
Tània Verge, the Catalan Minister for Equality, described the Alves case as “a milestone.” “This shows that nightclub protocols against sexual violence and training their staff for an immediate response are crucial,” she said. “This shows that trials can proceed with full protection for victims and placing sexual consent at the center. And it demonstrates that, no matter how rich, famous, and powerful the perpetrators are, regardless of their attempts to discredit the victims, impunity is over.”
Alves met the woman in the VIP area of the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona on December 30, 2022. After offering a drink to her and her friends, he signaled for her to join him in the bathroom, the only area of the nightclub not covered by cameras.
Once inside, the victim stated that he demanded oral sex, and when she refused, he raped her. Alves initially denied knowing the woman but changed his story several times when presented with forensic and video evidence.
Alves won dozens of titles with clubs like Sevilla, Barcelona, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain and played 126 times for Brazil, including three World Cups. He helped Brazil win two Copa América titles and an Olympic gold medal.
The defender played for Barcelona from 2008 to 2016, returned to the club briefly in 2022, and still lives near the city. Alves was with the Mexican club Pumas when he was arrested, and his contract was immediately terminated.
Source: The Guardian