Dani Alves, a former Brazil football star, will stand trial in Spain for allegedly raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub between February 5-7, 2022, according to a Spanish court on Wednesday, December 20.
Alves won 42 trophies during his illustrious career, including three Champions Leagues with Barcelona and two Copa Americas with Brazil.
At last year’s World Cup finals in Qatar, he became the oldest player to represent Brazil in the sport’s pinnacle event.
Prosecutors are demanding a nine-year prison sentence for the former Barcelona full-back, who has been in Spanish custody since his arrest in January and have demanded that he pay his alleged victim 150,000 euros ($163,500) in reparation.
The player, 40, has maintained that he had consensual intercourse with his accuser.
“I have a really clear conscience regarding what happened that night in the bathroom of the VIP area of the Sutton nightclub,” he told Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia in an interview published in June, his first since his arrest.
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“What happened and what didn’t happen? And what didn’t happen is that I forced this woman to do anything that we did,” he added.
However, when the story first surfaced before he was detained, Alves denied knowing the woman who made a police complaint against him on January 2 in a television interview.
“I was dancing and having a good time without invading anyone’s space,” he told Spanish TV channel Antena 3
“I don’t know who this lady is. How could I do that to a woman? No.”
Dani Alves told La Vanguardia that he initially lied because he was worried his wife would leave him if he admitted to having an affair.
The high-profile trial will take place in Barcelona, according to a statement from the court that has overseen the inquiry into the matter.
Prosecutors claim Alves invited the lady to enter a small enclosure at the swanky Sutton nightclub, which she claims she had no idea was a lavatory.
Once inside, the footballer had a “violent attitude” towards the woman, forcing her to have sexual relations despite her objections, according to the accusation.
According to Spain’s sexual consent law, which was established last year, the charge of sexual assault encompasses a wide range of crimes, from online abuse and groping to rape, each with a separate potential sentence. Rape can result in a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Alves was on vacation in Barcelona after playing for Brazil in the World Cup in Qatar at the time of the incident.
Alves was fired by the Mexican team Pumas UNAM following his arrest.
