Soccer star Dani Alves testifies he did not sexually assault his accuser

Brazilian soccer star Dani Alves sits during his trial in Barcelona on Feb. 5, 2024. (AP)

• His accuser has testified that Alves raped her in a bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub
• “I am not that type of man,” Alves said in response to his defense lawyer if he had forced her to have sexual relations

BARCELONA, Spain: Brazilian soccer star Dani Alves denied accusations that he sexually assaulted a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub, in testifying before a court on Wednesday.
After two days of listening to testimony from the alleged victim, witnesses, police and experts, Alves testified that their encounter was consensual. His accuser has testified that Alves raped her in a bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub early in the morning of Dec. 31, 2022.
“I am not that type of man,” Alves said in response to his defense lawyer if he had forced her to have sexual relations.
State prosecutors are seeking a nine-year prison sentence for Alves if convicted while the lawyers representing his accuser want 12 years.
The 40-year-old Alves spent the past two days listening to testimony from the alleged victim, witnesses and police officers.
Alves was escorted in handcuffs into the small courtroom wearing a long-sleeve white sweater, dark trousers and glasses. His mother was present outside, as she has been the entire trial. His wife was only there Tuesday when she testified that he had arrived home “smelling of alcohol” after the alleged assault.
The three-day trial concludes Wednesday. A verdict normally takes weeks to be delivered.
His accuser testified on Monday behind closed doors on order of the court. State prosecutors asked for the court to take extra measures to protect her identity after a video circulated on social media last month that allegedly identified the woman.
In testimony previously given to state prosecutors last year, the woman said she met Alves in a VIP area of the Sutton nightclub after midnight where she had gone with a friend and a cousin. She said she accompanied Alves into a private bathroom where he allegedly slapped her, used insulting language and raped her.
A friend and cousin of the alleged victim who went dancing with her that night told the three-judge panel Monday that after she exited the bathroom she was distraught and told them Alves “hurt her badly” by forcing her to have intercourse without her consent.
Police officers who attended to the alleged victim testified she was greatly shaken and told them she had been sexually assaulted by Alves. The officers said Tuesday she had to overcome her fears that “nobody would believe her” before she formally accused Alves. Another officer said the woman told him “I don’t want money, I want justice.”
Alves’ friend who was with him that night said the soccer player drank wine and whiskey before going to the nightclub. Being drunk can be considered an extenuating factor by a court and lead to a shorter prison sentence.
According to his friend, Alves and the alleged victim danced together and showed “chemistry” before going into the bathroom and that he hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the woman afterward.
A forensic psychologist who examined the woman testified Wednesday that she was suffering from “post-traumatic” symptoms, a conclusion that was disputed by an outside expert called by the defense.
Alves has been in pre-trial jail since being detained on Jan. 20, 2023. His requests for bail were denied because the court considered him a flight risk, despite his offer to hand over his passport and wear a tracking device. Brazil does not extradite its own citizens when they are sentenced in other countries.
Alves modified his defense during the investigative phase while in custody.
At first, he denied any sexual contact with her, only to later admit to a sexual encounter that he said was consented to by the woman. He said he had been trying to save his marriage by not admitting to the sexual encounter initially.
Alves was ordered before the trial to set aside 150,000 euros ($162,000) to pay his alleged victim if he is found guilty and ordered to pay damages.
This is the first high-profile sex crime trial since Spain overhauled its legislation in 2022 to make consent, or the lack thereof, central to defining a sex crime in response to an upswell of protests after a gang-rape case during the San Fermin bull-running festival in Pamplona in 2016. The legislation popularly known as the “only yes means yes” law defines consent as an explicit expression of a person’s will, making it clear that silence or passivity do not equal consent.
Under the law, the crime of sexual assault takes in a wide array of crimes from online abuse and groping to rape, each with different punishments.
Alves won major titles with elite clubs including Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. He also helped Brazil win two Copa Americas and an Olympic gold medal at age 38. He played at his third World Cup, the only major title he’s not won, in 2022. He played for Barcelona from 2008-16 and briefly rejoined the club in 2022. He still has a residence near the city.
Alves’ contract with Mexican club Pumas was terminated immediately after his arrest.