Ex-Barcelona player Dani Alves has won his appeal against a conviction for sexually assaulting a woman in a Catalan nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2022.
Although the 40-year-old denied any wrongdoing, he was initially sentenced to four and a half years in prison in February 2024, after a panel of three judges found him guilty following a three-day trial.
However, following his lawyers’ appeals, Alves was granted bail in March 2024 as he awaited his appeal to be heard by a higher court.
After the Catalan High Court reviewed the case, judges concluded on Friday, March 28, 2025, that there was not enough evidence to dismiss Alves’ presumption of innocence.
Parts of a 101-page written document read:
“The Appeals Section of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia has unanimously upheld the appeal of footballer Dani Alves, who was sentenced by Section 21 of the Provincial Court of Barcelona to 4 years and 6 months in prison for a crime of sexual assault on a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub on December 31, 2022.
“The full bench of the Appeals Section, composed of judges María Angels Vivas, Roser Bach, Maria Jesus Manzano, and Judge Manuel Álvarez, does not share the conviction expressed by the Barcelona Court and points out that its exposition contains a series of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and contradictions regarding the facts, the legal assessment, and its consequences.
“The court thus dismisses the appeals of the prosecution, which requested the partial annulment of the sentence and, alternatively, an increase in the penalty to nine years and of the private prosecution which sought to raise the penalty to 12 years and acquits the defendant, nullifying the precautionary measures imposed.”
The right-back enjoyed a storied career, winning numerous trophies with top clubs like Barcelona, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain.
FKA/EK
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