Footballer Dani Alves is acquitted of rape

The court's appeals division has unanimously overturned a sentence of four years and six months for the sexual assault of a woman at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona in December 2022.

The court upheld the appeal filed by the footballer's defence and dismissed the appeals from the Prosecutor's Office for an increase in the sentence to 9 years and by the private prosecution, which had requested an increase to 12 years.

The ruling, issued on Friday, pointed to a lack of reliability in the complainant's testimony and states that, given "insufficient evidence", the court orders the reversal of the sentence - an acquittal - and the lifting of precautionary measures (e.g. passport withdrawal).