Dani Alves has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of sexual assault in Barcelona.
He was convicted by Catalonia’s top court after an incident at a nightclub in Barcelona on New Year’s Eve in 2022.
The female victim said that Alves had prevented her from leaving a toilet cubicle in a VIP area of the club, before slapping her, insulting her, and forcing her to engage in sexual relations with him.
Alves had originally denied having any sexual contact with the victim, before later claiming that he had engaged in consensual sexual relations with her.
As well as handing Alves a custodial sentence, the court ordered the 40-year-old to pay 150,000 euros to the victim.
BREAKING: Former Barcelona and Brazilian footballer Dani Alves has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being found guilty of sexual assault. pic.twitter.com/nKymmFgXlQ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 22, 2024
Alves has been detained since his arrest in January 2023, with repeated bail requests denied as he was deemed a flight risk.
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Brazil does not grant extradition requests in any case, so had Alves returned to his home country, Catalonia would not have had the authority to bring him back to face trial.
The prosecution had pushed for a nine-year custodial sentence, while the victim’s lawyers had pushed for Alves to be handed a 12-year sentence.
Alves’ legal team pushed for his acquittal or, failing that, a one-year custodial sentence plus a 50,000 euro fine.
Alves’ lawyer confirmed their intention to appeal the sentence.