Spanish court overturns soccer player Dani Alves’ rape conviction on appeal

By Canadian Press on March 28, 2025.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Dani Alves won his appeal against a sexual assault conviction as a Spanish court overturned the ruling Friday.

Alves was found guilty in February 2024 of raping a woman in a nightclub in December 2022 and sentenced to four years, six months in prison. He denied wrongdoing during the three-day trial.

The former Brazil and Barcelona star was released from prison in in March 2024 while waiting for his appeal to be heard by a higher court.

That court ruled Friday that there was “insufficient evidence” to rule out Alves’ presumption of innocence.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press