Former Brazil and Barcelona defender, Dani Alves has successfully appealed his sexual assault conviction, with a Spanish court overturning the ruling on Friday.
The 40-year-old, who was convicted in February 2024 for allegedly assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2022, had been sentenced to four years and six months in prison. However, he maintained his innocence throughout the three-day trial.
Alves was released from prison in March 2024 while awaiting his appeal before a higher court.
On Friday, that court ruled that there was “insufficient evidence” to dismiss Alves’ presumption of innocence.
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The Brazilian footballer, who enjoyed a decorated career with clubs such as Barcelona, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain, also contributed to Brazil’s victories in two Copa América tournaments and secured an Olympic gold medal at the age of 38.
He made his third World Cup appearance in 2022, though it remains the only major title he has not won.
At the time of his arrest, Alves was playing for Mexican club Pumas, which swiftly terminated his contract.
His 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 was introduced following widespread protests after a gang-rape case during the San Fermín festival in Pamplona in 2016. The legislation clarifies that silence or passivity do not constitute consent.
However, the Barcelona-based appeals court, consisting of four judges, unanimously decided to overturn Alves’ conviction.
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In their ruling, they stated that the plaintiff’s testimony “differed notably” from video evidence recorded before she and Alves entered the bathroom, where she alleged he forced her into non-consensual sex.
