BARCELONA: Spanish prosecutors are seeking a nine-year jail term for former Brazil star Dani Alves who is accused of raping a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
Prosecutors have also demanded the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain full-back, who has been in jail in Spain since his arrest in January, pay his alleged victim 150,000 euros ($163,500) in compensation, according to a copy of his indictment seen by AFP on Thursday.
A date for his trial had not yet been set. The 40-year-old has maintained that he had consensual sex with his accuser.
“I have a really clear conscience regarding what happened that night in the bathroom of the VIP area of the Sutton nightclub,” he told Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia in an interview published in June, his first since his arrest.
“What happened and what didn’t happen. And what didn’t happen is that I forced this woman to do anything that we did,” he added.
But when the story first broke — and before he was arrested — Alves in a television interview initially denied knowing the woman who filed a police complaint against him on January 2.
The player told La Vanguardia that he had lied at first because he was afraid his wife would leave him if he admitted he had been with another woman.
The indictment offers a detailed description of what according to prosecutors happened at the upscale Sutton nightclub.
After meeting at the venue, Alves invited the woman to enter a small enclosure which she says she did not know was a toilet.
Once inside, the footballers showed a “violent attitude” toward the woman, who he forced to have intercourse despite her resistance.
At the time of the incident, Alves was on holiday in Barcelona after playing for Brazil at the World Cup in Qatar.
After his arrest, Alves was sacked by his Mexican club Pumas UNAM.
In a highly successful career, Alves won 42 trophies, including three Champions Leagues with Barcelona and two Copa Americas with Brazil.
Prosecutors seek jail term for ex-Brazil star Alves over rape charge
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Prosecutors seek jail term for ex-Brazil star Alves over rape charge
- Prosecutors have also demanded the former Barcelona and PSG full-back pay his alleged victim $163,500 in compensation
- A date for his trial had not yet been set
Pesky Aston Villa vie to continue ascent vs. Arsenal
- Gunners boss Mikel Arteta faces a group that has posed problems the past two seasons
- “I don’t know,” Arteta said, when asked if he thought the fixture meant a bit more to Emery
LONDON: Premier League leaders Arsenal will face yet another potential statement match when they visit a third-place Aston Villa side led by former Gunners manager Unai Emery in Saturday’s early kickoff.
With the exception of Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Brentford, Arsenal’s recent schedule has been a gauntlet of glamorous opponents.
On Sunday, they earned a 1-1 draw across town at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge. Before that, it was a 3-1 home win over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League first phase. And before that, a convincing home derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
But in Emery’s Villa side, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta faces a group that has posed problems the past two seasons, taking seven points from their four league meetings. And in his Spanish managerial compatriot, he may face a foe who still carries extra motivation in this fixture since his own run in charge of Arsenal (10-1-3, 33 points) ended unceremoniously in 2019.
“I don’t know,” Arteta said, when asked if he thought the fixture meant a bit more to Emery. “I think when you look at Unai, his career, his motivation level, everywhere he’s had an impact, it’s all been remarkable. So I don’t know, that’s a question for him. But in my opinion, he never needs anything extra. I think he’s good enough in himself.”
Arteta has his own concerns amid a relentless campaign that, despite an 18-match unbeaten run, has not come without issues, particularly in the injury department. But that landscape is improving, with Martin Odegaard returning midweek from an extended absence and regulars Declan Rice, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard all questionable for Saturday.
Villa (8-3-3, 27 points) have overcome an uninspiring start to climb their way up the table after a string of four consecutive league wins and six in all competitions.
Donyell Malen has emerged as a legitimate threat off the bench in the role vacated by Jhon Duran, leading Villa with four league goals despite only four starts. Morgan Rogers, Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins have also scored three league goals each.
But Emery’s group have been consistent more than overwhelming, with their last three wins over Leeds, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton coming by a single goal. Their overall plus-6 goal differential is less than that of fourth-place Chelsea and fifth-place Crystal Palace.
“This is the Premier League, the most difficult. And it was so, so difficult to beat Brighton, it was so difficult to beat Wolverhampton,” Emery said Friday. “I can remind it for us and for you, and I was not feeling favorite against Wolverhampton, and I told you it, and tomorrow, I am not feeling favorite, but as well, I know we can win.”
