BREAKING: Spanish Court Overturns Dani Alves’ Rape Conviction

A top court in Spain’s Catalonia region on Friday overturned the conviction of Brazilian soccer player Dani Alves for sexual assault.

Reuters reports that the court dismissed an earlier judgment by a lower court for “inconsistencies and contradictions”.

Alves, in February 2024, was convicted of raping a woman in the restroom of a Barcelona nightclub in 2022 and was sentenced to four years and six months in prison.

In its ruling overturning the verdict, the Catalan high court said the alleged victim’s testimony lacked credibility, and “explicitly indicating that what she recounted does not correspond to reality”.

Alves had already been released from prison on a $1.08m bail while awaiting the result of his appeal.

Following the running, he is now permitted to leave the country as the appeal court lifted all travel restrictions.

Ester Garcia, the lawyer of the alleged victim, and Alves’ lawyer, Ines Guardiola, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The decision can still be appealed at Spain’s Supreme Court.