Barcelona, Spain – The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) don free Dani Alves from the criminal charges of sexual assault. This decision come on March 28, 2025, where the court nullified a previous sentence of four and half years imprisonment given to Alves for allegedly assaulting a woman inside Barcelona’s Sutton nightclub in December 2022.
Di original court findings state say Alves carry di 23-year-old woman enter bathroom in di VIP section of di club, where he supposedly force her to have sex without her consent and with violence. However, di TSJC find plenty ‘gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies and contradictions’ in di previous judgment, and dem unanimous decide to grant di appeal wey bin brought by Alves defend team.
According to di court, di evidence wey dem gather during di trial no manage to meet di standards to overcome di presumption of innocence. Di TSJC also highlight say di woman’s testimony lack reliability and dem describe her account as ‘untrustworthy’.
“We dey very happy, justice don happen, Alves show say him no guilty,” Inés Guardiola, Alves lawyer, talk to di press after di ruling. Di decision don bring mixed reactions as Yolanda Díaz, di Spanish Deputy Prime Minister, express support for di complainant, stating say she dey worry about wetin she dey go through, highlighting di importance of women’s rights in justice matters.
Di incident wey lead to Alves’ charge happen in di early hours of December 31, 2022, as di former football star and his Brazilian friend go di Sutton nightclub after being on holiday post-World Cup in Qatar. CCTV cameras show Alves and di complainant enjoying themselves in di VIP area before di situation turn serious.
Di footage show Alves and di young lady dance for about fifteen minutes before Alves invite her into a private area wey get sofa and a toilet. As per di girl’s report, she enter di bathroom willingly but later regret, claiming Alves no allow her to come out. She alleged say he force her to perform oral sex and physically assault her when she refuse.
After she finally come out of di toilet, di young woman reportedly break down in tears, leading di club staff to activate their sexual assault protocols.
Di TSJC review di security footage, and dem point out say di discrepancies between di woman’s testimony and wetin di video show significantly challenge di credibility of her claims. Di court also remark say di lower court fail to balance di woman’s statements with clinical and forensic evidence, such as fingerprint and DNA tests.
Even though Alves consistently deny di assault, di court raise concerns about how he change his story several times. Initially, he deny knowing di complainant, then he later claim no sexual intercourse happen but they had consensual sex.
Di TSJC also stress say di complainant’s behavior as captured in di footage show no evidence of coercion or lack of consent, emphasizing di notion of individual sexual freedom. Di lawyer for di complainant also express concern, saying di ruling may discourage women from coming forward with reports of sexual violence.
Alves don spend 14 months in preventive detention before he gain provisional release in March 2024 after paying a bail of one million euros. His initial conviction had also included five years of supervised release and a ban on approaching di complainant for nine years, alongside an obligation to compensate her with €150,000 (about $163,000). All of these penalties are now null and void following his acquittal.
