Alves was found guilty in February 2024 of raping a woman at a Spanish nightclub in December 2022.
Former Barcelona player Dani Alvez won an appeal against a sexual assault conviction after a Spanish court overturned the ruling.
Alves was convicted in February 2024 for raping a woman in a nightclub in December 2022 and sentenced to four years in prison. The former Brazilian and Barcelona defender denied any fraud during the three-day trial.
The court ruled on Friday that there was “inadequate evidence” excluding Alves’ presumption of innocence.
The Alves trial was the first famous lawsuit since Spain agreed to centrely overhaul its laws in 2022 in response to the upward protests following the gang rape incident during the 2016 San Ferminbull Running Festival.
The law commonly known as the “yes yes” law defines consent as an explicit expression of a person’s will, revealing that silence or passivity disagrees.
However, four judges from the Barcelona-based Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the conviction would be overturned. In their ruling, they wrote that the plaintiff’s testimony was “notably different” from the evidence in video footage taken before the woman and Alves entered the bathroom.
Alves, now 41, was placed in jail from January 20, 2023 to March 2024, and was released after paying $1.2 million for bail while awaiting appeal. He also handed over his passport, insisting that the prosecutor opposed releasing him on bail due to the possible risk of flight.
Prosecutors wanted the victim’s lawyer to stay behind bars for 12 years, but prosecutors wanted his sentence to be increased to nine years.
The decision could be appealed to the Spanish Supreme Court in Madrid.
Alves was one of the most successful players of his generation, winning dozens of titles at elite clubs such as Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. He also helped Brazil win two Copa America and Olympic gold medals at the age of 38. He played in 2022 in his third World Cup, the only major title he has not won.
He was with Club Puma, Mexico when he was arrested. Pumas soon ended his contract.
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