Dani Alves was arrested for sexual assault
A Spanish judge on Friday ordered the arrest of Brazilian soccer player Dani Alves for allegedly sexually assaulting a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub in late December.
“Barcelona’s Court of Instruction No. 15 today heard the footballer Dani Alves accused of sexual assault by a woman for alleged facts that took place in a Barcelona nightclub in December,” he said. short statement.
“As previously requested by the prosecution, the magistrate decided to keep the player in custody,” the body added.
A few hours later, the Pumas club of Mexico announced that they had terminated the contract with Dani Alves. “With this decision, the club reiterates its commitment not to tolerate any action by any member of our institution that undermines the spirit of the university and its values,” the president of the club said in detail. National University of Mexico (UNAM), Leopoldo Silva.
According to a source close to the case, the young woman is accusing the 39-year-old Brazilian international of “rape”, which is part of sexual violence in Spain’s criminal code. According to this source, the young woman repeated her accusations before the judge on Friday.
According to the mass media, the events took place on the night of December 30-31 in the toilet of a fashionable nightclub in Barcelona.
The Catalan regional police told AFP that the footballer, who was summoned to a Barcelona police station on Friday morning, was “taken into police custody” before being taken to a Barcelona court to appear before this judge.
Eight days ago, the court announced the initiation of an investigation into sexual violence on January 10 following a complaint by a young woman.
According to a source familiar with the matter, Dani Alves’ temporary detention was decided due to the risk of the Brazilian player being “leaked” and the lack of an extradition agreement between Brazil and Spain.
Alves denies the facts
In a video appeal transmitted to the Spanish Antena 3 channel and broadcast on January 5, the football player categorically denied the facts.
“First of all, I would like to deny it. I was there, in this place, having a good evening with other people, but without invading other people’s space, he affirmed. I don’t know who this young woman is, I don’t know her.”
“On the 30th, she went out to dinner with friends, a much-needed disconnect. He went out dancing and enjoying the music as he knew how. And that’s all. In an interview broadcast on the same channel on January 9, his Spanish wife Joana Sanz made no mistake, describing this information as “without head and tail”.
The former player of FC Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, the most successful football player in the world (43 trophies), Alves had a few days of vacation in Barcelona after participating in the World Cup at the end of December. Qatar with the choice of Brazil. and before returning to his current club Pumas de Mexico.
In Qatar, the 39-year-old defender became the oldest Brazilian at the World Cup.
After making his debut with Esporte Clube Bahia’s first team in Brazil at the age of 18, Alves quickly caught the attention of Spanish clubs.
He arrived at Sevilla FC in 2002, joining the club that would see his greatest success six years later: FC Barcelona won 23 titles between 2008 and 2016, including three Champions Leagues, six Leagues and four Copa del Rey.
He then left the Camp Nou for Turin and Juventus, where he would stay for just one season, winning the Scudetto and Coppa Italia.
Alves then left for PSG, where he was reunited with compatriot Neymar. Having had little fun in Paris, he returned to Brazil in 2019 before a brief six-month return to Barça. He was also the Olympic champion with Brazil at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Alves, who has a strong social media presence, arrested Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in 2019 for homophobic, misogynistic and racist remarks and eventually endorsed him during the 2022 presidential election.
