Dani Alves prosecutor suing for fire in rape case
Spanish prosecutors are scheduled to appeal the court’s ruling that overturned the rape conviction of former Brazilian international footballer Dani Alvez.
Alves, a three-time Champions League winner in Barcelona, was found guilty last year of raping a young woman in the bathroom of a Spanish nightclub in 2022. He was sentenced to four and a half years.
However, on Friday, the Barcelona Court of Appeals overturned the first verdict, citing contradictions and contradictions at Alves’ trial.
The court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The Court of Appeal also described the accuser as “unreliable claimant” and said her testimony was “notably different” from video footage taken before she and Alves entered the bathroom, where she allegedly made her into unconsensual sex.
In a statement, the Catalan prosecutor’s office confirmed that it plans to challenge the ruling but did not provide further details.
🚨🇧🇷|Dani Alves is not guilty of sexual assault crime. The court reports that the young woman’s testimony is not sufficient to support the former soccer player’s conviction @Diaries. pic.twitter.com/wazz9l7sy7
-EUROFOOT (@eurofootcom) March 28, 2025
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Barcelona on Monday in a protest hosted by a feminist group in response to a decision by the Court of Appeal. Many accused the ruling of it as “unacceptable” and carried signs demanding it be reversed.
Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero said the testimony of the rape victim “still under question” and “it is said to be “shameful” as “presumed innocence is said to take precedence over the testimony of young, brave women.”
She later apologized Tuesday, revealing that she was not intending to “stake questions about the presumption of innocence.” However, she argued that the Court of Appeal’s decision to annul the Alves conviction represents a “retreat.”
Having established himself as a feminist, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez prioritized the fight against sexual violence. His administration reformed the country’s criminal law in 2022, redefineing all nonconsensual gender as rape.
This legal change came in response to the case of an 18-year-old woman gang-raped by five men at the San Ferminbull Running Festival in Pamplona.
Alves, now 41, was jailed after being arrested in January 2023. He was detained until March 2024, released for 1 million euros (853,000 pounds) and awaited the outcome of the appeal.