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10th May 2023
08:48am BST
Dani Alves' appeals to be freed on bail have been denied once again by a Spanish court.
The former Barcelona right-back has been detained in prison while accusations against him are investigated.
He was provisionally detained in January after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a nightclub on 30th December. He has denied wrongdoing and said sex with the accuser was consensual.
The court had already denied a similar request by Alves’ defence team in February, saying he was a flight risk.
A judge ordered Alves to be held without bail after analysing the initial inquiry by authorities and hearing evidence from the accused, the alleged victim and witnesses. A trial date has yet to be set.
Alves’ lawyers has filed a 200-page report and videos from security cameras that they said discredited statements by the alleged victim and other witnesses.
The lawyers also reiterated that Alves would accept any court-imposed measures, such as turning in his passports and wearing a tracking device, if freed on bail.
Under Spain’s sexual consent law passed last year, sexual assault takes in a wide array of crimes from online abuse and groping to rape, each with different potential punishments. A rape conviction can result in a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Alves, who turned 40 on Saturday, won 42 football titles, including the Champions League three times with Barcelona and two Copa Americas with Brazil. He played in his third World Cup last year in Qatar.
Barcelona boss Xavi was recently forced to apologise for his comments about his former teammate.
In January, he expressed his shock at the news about his former teammate.
During the interview he said that it was a matter of justice and that he felt ‘very bad’ for the former Brazil international, which led to widespread criticism.
However the ex-Spain international has backtracked on his comments and apologised for his ‘misinterpreted’ words.
“What I said about Alves was misinterpreted, perhaps I was not strong enough,” he explained.
“I ignored the victim, all these acts must be condemned, whether Dani or anyone else does it. I apologise, it was unfortunate.
“It is a very tough subject, but I forgot to talk about the victims. All these types of acts must be condemned, both in gender violence and in rapes.”
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