On appeal, a Spanish court reversed the sexual assault conviction of former Barcelona and Brazil defender Dani Alves.
Dani Alves was cleared after Catalonia’s High Court of Justice’s appeals section unanimously upheld his appeal, citing “inconsistencies and contradictions” in the case against him.
READ ALSO: Dani Alves’ rape sentence is overturned by a Spanish court.
After being found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at a Barcelona bar in 2022, Alves, a former full-back with 126 international caps, was given a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence in February 2024.
He was released on bail in March 2024 while his appeal was heard by a higher court. The appeal court said that the ruling in the original court case “contains, throughout the reasoning, a series of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and contradictions regarding the facts, the legal assessment, and their consequences.
The appeals court also dismissed Alves’s claim for 150,000 euros in compensation against his accuser and removed all limitations on him, including a restraining order and travel ban.
“Alves is very happy. He is innocent, that is demonstrated. Justice has spoken,” his lawyer Ines Guardiola, told Barcelona-based RAC1 radio.
At the time of his arrest, Alves was contracted to Mexican club Pumas UNAM — he was sacked soon afterwards. But former Minister of Equality of Spain Irene Montero, who drafted a tough new law against sexual offences which came into effect in 2023, said the ruling was a “clear example” of “patriarchal justice that does not protect women and maintains the culture of impunity for aggressors”.
Alves was a key cog of an all-conquering Barcelona team — crowned La Liga champions six times — and won 126 caps for Brazil, winning the Copa America twice.
He also won European league titles with Italian giants Juventus and French outfit Paris Saint Germain.
