Dani Alves Wins Appeal As Spanish Court Overturns Rape Conviction

Dani Alves Wins Appeal As Spanish Court Overturns Rape Conviction

Former Brazil and Barcelona defender Dani Alves has successfully appealed his sexual assault conviction, with a Spanish court overturning the verdict on Friday. The 40-year-old footballer had been convicted in February 2024 for allegedly assaulting a woman at a Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2022, which led to a sentence of four years and six months in prison. However, Alves maintained his innocence throughout the three-day trial….READ MORE…

Alves was released from prison in March 2024 while awaiting his appeal before a higher court. On Friday, the appeals court ruled that there was “insufficient evidence” to disprove Alves’ presumption of innocence.

The Brazilian footballer, who had a distinguished career with clubs such as Barcelona, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain, also played a key role in Brazil’s victories in two Copa América tournaments and earned an Olympic gold medal at the age of 38. His third World Cup appearance in 2022 remains the only major title he has not won.

At the time of his arrest, Alves was playing for Mexican club Pumas, which subsequently terminated his contract.

Alves’ case was the first high-profile sexual offense trial under Spain’s 2022 legal reforms, which redefined consent as an explicit expression of a person’s will. The “only yes means yes” law, introduced following widespread protests over a gang-rape case at the 2016 San Fermín festival in Pamplona, clarified that silence or passivity do not constitute consent.

The appeals court, comprising four judges, unanimously decided to overturn Alves’ conviction, stating that the plaintiff’s testimony “differed notably” from video evidence recorded before she and Alves entered the bathroom, where she had alleged he forced her into non-consensual sex.