Alex Trelinski
EX-BARCELONA footballer Dani Alves has won an appeal against his February 2024 sexual assault conviction.
The Brazilian international was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona on December 31, 2022.
He was sentenced to four years in prison.
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Alves denied doing anything wrong during his three-day trial and was bailed a year ago, pending an appeal.
The Catalunya High Court ruled on Friday that there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to rule out Alves’ presumption of innocence.
It also refers to a ‘lack of reliability’ in the testimony of the complainant.
The court commented on a ‘series of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies and contradictions of the facts, the legal assessment and its consequences’.
Alves’ lawyer, Ines Guardiola, said: “We are very happy, justice has been done, Alves has been proven innocent.”
The player was in pre-trial detention for 14 months and was released after paying €1million in bail
The original conviction considered it proven that he violently sexually assaulted the women.
The final sentence was lower than those demanded by prosecutors and the victim, as Alves had offered to pay reparations.
