Former Barcelona right-wing back Dani Alves acquitted after being found not guilty of sexually assault following appeal..

Spanish media outlet La Vanguardia reported on Saturday that after a two-year trial, the Catalonia High Court recently overturned the case in which former Barcelona and Brazil legendary international right-wing back Dani Alves was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a nightclub and acquitted him.

According to reports, due to the inconsistencies in the testimony given by the plaintiff in this case, the appeal judge ruled that the victim was an unreliable plaintiff and her testimony was insufficient to uphold the verdict against Alves.

In this case, the court should give priority to the principle of presumption of innocence. Although they cannot conclude that no sexual assault occurred, since there is not enough evidence to support and confirm it, Dani Alves was acquitted from all charges. This verdict was also unanimously passed by all the judges of the Court of Appeal after deliberation.

It is reported that after regaining his freedom, Alves and his relatives and friends finally showed a bright smile and celebrated this long-awaited good news.

What happened

According to a previous report by Spanish newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya, the incident occurred on December 31, 2022. At that time, a woman accused Alves of sexually assaulting her in a local nightclub in Catalonia and demanded that the award-winning former Barcelona player be sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The case was officially heard in February 2023. After three days of trial, the judge found Alves guilty of sexual assault and sentenced him to four years in prison.

The three original judges also stated in a 61-page written ruling that Alves needed to pay €150,000 in mental damages to the victim as compensation.

However, Alves himself has always insisted that he is innocent, he will not harm others, and said that he had voluntary sex with the victim.

Despite this, the prosecutor still requested that Alves' sentence be increased to 9 years in prison in the second trial.

However, because Alves insisted on not accepting the verdict, the case was heard again in the Catalonia High Court in 2024 after a successful appeal.

It is worth mentioning that at that time, Alves was also forced to retire early because of his involvement in the case and was sacked by PUMAS, the club he played for.

As a player, Alves played at Barcelona for 9 years, during which he has played 408 times for the Blaugrana in all competitions, scored 22 goals, assisted 105 times, and won the La Liga 6 times, the Copa Del Rey 4 times, the Supercopa de España 4 times, the UEFA Champions League 3 times, the UEFA Super Cup 3 times and the FIFA World Club Cup 3 times with the club. He is the foreign player with the most appearances in Blaugrana's club history after Leo Messi.