Imprisoned since January, Daniel Alves will appear before the judge. This is the decision taken this Tuesday by the Barcelona court, which closed the investigation, opened almost a year ago, after a 23-year-old young woman accused the former Barça right-back of sexual assault. The Brazilian is suspected of having raped the victim in the toilets of a Catalan nightclub on December 30, 2022.
In a referral order notified this Tuesday, the Barcelona court gives the prosecution and defense five days to debate whether the PSG player should be acquitted or convicted and, in this case, what sanctions should be applied.
According to La Vanguardia, “the prosecution will demand a prison sentence of up to eight years in prison against the footballer. On the other hand, the defense will request acquittal, arguing that the relations were consensual. » Once this procedure is completed, a date will be set for the trial to take place.
The Brazilian’s counsel indicated that “the right to the presumption of innocence as well as the confidential nature of the procedure had been violated” and believe that the entire investigation must be canceled. Still according to the Spanish daily, the court recognizes that the procedures which affect public figures have “an indisputable media impact”, but that these “attacks on the presumption of innocence have no consequences in the process”.
During the investigation, Daniel Alves proposed three different versions, reports Marca : he first claimed that he did not know the victim, he then admitted to having met the young woman in the toilets of the nightclub without anything happening between them and, finally, he maintained that the young girl had performed oral sex on him, consensually.