A Spanish court has determined that former Barcelona and Brazil footballer Dani Alves may be granted conditional release from prison after serving approximately a quarter of his sentence for rape.
Alves, who received a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence last month, will be released on €1 million (£853,000) bail.
He has been in pre-trial detention since January 2023.
The 40-year-old was convicted of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
Conditions for his release include surrendering both his Brazilian and Spanish passports to prevent him from leaving Spain.
He is also required to appear before the court weekly.
Moreover, a restraining order has been imposed, prohibiting him from approaching the victim.
The court’s decision, made following a request from Alves’ lawyer citing his time served in pre-trial detention, was not unanimous, with one judge dissenting. The ruling is subject to appeal.
During last month’s trial, prosecutors alleged that Alves and his friend had purchased champagne for three young women. Subsequently, Alves reportedly enticed one of them, unbeknownst to her, to a VIP area of the nightclub under false pretenses.
Prosecutors contended that it was at this juncture that Alves became violent, coercing the woman into sexual intercourse despite her repeated pleas to depart.
Alves maintained that she could have left “if she wanted to,” yet the court determined that she did not consent.
Recent amendments to Spanish law have underscored the significance of consent under the “Only Yes is Yes” doctrine.
In a statement, the court cited corroborating evidence beyond the victim’s testimony that supported the allegation of rape.
According to the court, Alves forcibly seized the complainant and threw her to the ground before sexually assaulting her, effectively restricting her movement even as “the complainant expressed refusal and attempted to depart.”
The victim described the ordeal as causing her “anguish and terror,” while one of her companions attested that she witnessed the 23-year-old sobbing uncontrollably after exiting the restroom.
Alves altered his testimony on several occasions, initially denying any acquaintance with his accuser before later asserting that they had crossed paths in the restroom, though nothing occurred between them.
He then changed his version of events again, saying that they had had consensual sex. “We were both enjoying ourselves,” he alleged.