LA LIGA footballer Rafa Mir has gone on trial in Valencia- accused of sexually assaulting a woman in September 2024.
The 29-year-old Sevilla striker is currently on loan to Elche and is alleged to have committed the offence when he was farmed out to Valencia.
Mir- from the Murcia region- could be jailed for over 10 years if prosecutors get their way.
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His friend Pablo Jara, 28, who plays for Murcia area side Alcantarilla, is also in the dock and faces up to three years behind bars if convicted.
Mir arrived at the Valencia Provincial Court on Thursday accompanied by his lawyer and said nothing to the press.
The assault is said to have happened in Betera(Valencia province).
A complaint was filed by a woman that Mir met in a Valencia nightclub.
She subsequently went to his house with a friend as well as two friends of the footballer including Jara.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Mir had consensual sex with one of the females in the property.
After that, according to prosecutors, he left the room, took the other woman into his arms, threw her into the pool clothed, got into the water and touched her.
She hurriedly left and fled the house, but realised that she had forgotten her bag, so she returned to retrieve it.
Prosecutors maintain that Mir then forced her into the bathroom, where he raped her despite being told that she wanted to leave.
The victim- aged 25 at the time- told the Valencia court on Thursday: “He put his fingers in my vagina and touched my whole body. It was difficult for me to breathe.”
While this was taking place, the other woman was taking a swim when, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, Pablo Jara approached her and began to touch her inappropriately until she pushed him away and asked him to stop.
Rafa Mir has pleaded not guilty because he says he had consensual sex with the woman who filed a complaint against him.
He also refused a plea bargain deal that would have seen him avoid jail time if he admitted his guilt.
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