And now? The next steps in the Daniel Alves trial

Brazilian football player Daniel Alves awaiting the outcome of the trial after being accused of sexual assault against a woman in a nightclub in December 2022. The trial lasted three days and took place this week, with testimonies from several people involved and the presentation of evidence. Now, the sentence is awaited by both parties.

According to the Globo Esporte website, the Spanish Court does not have a deadline for revealing the final sentence. The international press stipulates that the decision could be revealed within a month. Even with the sentence, the parties involved can still appeal, if they wish.

Therefore, Daniel Alves has not yet been declared innocent or guilty and remains in custody – he has been in preventive custody since January 2023. The prediction is that he could face up to 12 years in prison, which is the maximum sentence. His defense asked for acquittal or a sentence with mitigating factors, such as alcohol intoxication, as he had been drinking throughout that day.

Therefore, the next steps of the trial remain open pending the sentence of the judge in the case.

What did Daniel Alves say in his testimony at the trial?

On the third day of the trial in the sexual assault case, the Brazilian football player Daniel Alves spoke for the first time. In the previous days, he remained quiet and only listened to the testimonies of witnesses and analyzes of the experts who investigated the case. This Wednesday, the 7th, he spoke in his turn to give testimony about what happened.

He was accused by a woman of committing sexual assault in a bathroom at a nightclub in Barcelona, ​​Spain, in December 2022. He was detained for a year and is now on trial to receive the sentence. In his testimony, he recalled what happened that night.

At the beginning of his testimony, Daniel Alves said that he went out to eat with his friends at around 2:30 pm and they consumed some alcoholic drinks, such as wine, whiskey and sake. Soon after, they went to a bar and then to a nightclub. He said that two women were already in the reserved area and his friend, Bruno, asked them to stay with them. Daniel danced with one of them and said he thought they knew who he was because they asked to take a photo.

The athlete said that the atmosphere became warmer between him and the woman he was dancing with and they exchanged affection. Then, he asked her to go to the bathroom and she accepted. He said he entered the bathroom first and the woman entered a while later. “She was in front of me and we started the relationship. I remember she sat on me. I’m not a violent man. I didn’t force her to perform oral sex forcibly. She did not tell me anything. We were both enjoying ourselves and nothing more”, he said in the statement, according to the Globo Esporte website.

Soon after, he said he went home and saw his wife, Joana Sanz, in their bed. He lay down and slept. Daniel cried during this part of the statement. Then, he recalled the media repercussion of the harassment case. “I found out they were accusing me of sexual rape. I was practically ruined because I had all my contracts broken, accounts blocked. I found out everything from the press”, he declared. His testimony came to an end after that.