March 31 – Former Barcelona and Brazil player Daniel Alves has won his appeal against a rape conviction, with a Spanish court overturning the ruling.
In February 2024, Alves was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub bathroom and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.
The Brazilian however always maintained his innocence, insisting that the sexual relations were consensual. Catalonia’s High Court of Justice said it “unanimously reverses the sentence that convicted a football player for sexual assault”, pointing to “insufficient evidence” to deny Alves his “presumption of innocence.”
The ruling can still be appealed to Spain’s Supreme Court.
Alves, who was also ordered to pay €150,000 to the woman in damages in the decision last year, was released on bail in March 2024 after paying €1.1 million as he awaited the verdict in the appeal hearing.
In previous accounts, the Brazilian had first denied that any sexual encounter with the woman had taken place. In an interview with Antena 3, he claimed that he did not know who the woman was. Catalonia’s Supreme Court had said in a previous statement that Alves was under investigation “for an alleged crime of sexual assault as a result of the complaint filed by a woman for events that allegedly occurred in a nightclub in Barcelona last month.”
The Brazilian is one of the most decorated players of the modern era. He won three Champions League titles with FC Barcelona and two Copa Américas as well as an Olympic gold medal for Brazil.
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