The top court in Catalonia convicted former Brazilian footballer Dani Alves of assaulting a woman at a Barcelona nightclub in 2022, sentencing him to four and a half years in prison. They also ordered Alves to pay the victim 150,000 euros ($162,990).
In a statement, the court declared that they found evidence of non-consensual behaviour and established the assault based on the plaintiff’s testimony and other evidence. Despite being 40 years old, Alves denied the allegations throughout the three-day trial held earlier this month.
“The sentence considers that it has been proven that the victim did not consent and that there is evidence, in addition to the testimony of the plaintiff, to consider the proven,” the court said in a statement.
However, the decision remains subject to appeal. Following his arrest in January last year, the former Barcelona defender has remained in custody. The case has attracted significant attention not only due to Alves’ prominence but also because of the growing focus on gender violence in Spain’s public discourse.
This trial stands as one of Spain’s most notable legal proceedings since a 2022 law elevated consent as a critical factor in sexual assault cases and raised the minimum prison sentence for assaults involving violence.
