FORMER Barcelona and Brazil footballer Dani Alves has appeared in court this Monday, January 5, charged with the rape of a woman, 23, in a nightclub toilet.
Alves, who won the UEFA Champions League three times with the Catalan giants, could face a 12-year prison sentence after being accused of raping the woman in Barcelona’s popular Sutton nightclub.
The 40-year old faces an array of incriminating evidence, including witness accounts, videos and forensics.
The prosecution claims that Alves met the woman in the VIP area of the nightclub on December 30 2022.
Alves is then alleged to have invited the woman to the bathroom, which has no CCTV, before allegedly demanding oral sex and raping her after she refused.
Alves is accused of having shown a ‘violent attitude’ towards the woman, who received medical attention after leaving the nightclub – according to prosecutors, she is currently receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Police immediately collected forensic evidence from the scene, including fingerprints, before questioning Alves for the first time in January 2023.
Widely considered as one of the best right backs of all time, the father-of-two was sacked by Mexican club UNAM immediately after his arrest.
Alves’ wife, Joana Sanz, is set to testify in favour of her husband during the three-day trial at Barcelona’s Audiencia Provincial Court.
The accuser will give evidence from behind a screen and with an electronically distorted voice in order to protect her identity.
State prosecutors are lobbying for a nine-year jail sentence, whilst a lawyer representing the alleged victim hopes for a 12-year prison term – both prosecutors are also seeking a compensation payment of €150,000.
Alves, who has played for Sevilla, Barcelona, Juventus, Sao Paulo and Paris Saint Germain, is the second-most capped player in Brazil’s history.
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