Dani Alves faces second day of sexual assault trial in Barcelona

Brazilian footballer Dani Alves sat in silence and listened to a stream of witnesses give evidence during the second day of his sexual assault trial in Spain on Tuesday.

Alves is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub on December 31st, 2022.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

State prosecutors are seeking a nine-year prison sentence for Alves, if convicted, while the lawyers representing his accuser want 12 years.

His accuser gave evidence on Monday, the start of the three-day trial, behind closed doors on order of the Barcelona 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 evidence 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.

Alves has said the encounter was consensual.

The woman’s friend and cousin testified on Monday that when they saw her after she exited the bathroom she was distraught and told them Alves “hurt her badly” by forcing her to have intercourse without her consent.

On Tuesday, police officers who attended the alleged victim said in evidence that she was greatly shaken and told them she had been sexually assaulted by Alves. The officers said she had to overcome her fears that “nobody would believe her” before she formally denounced Alves.

One officer said the woman told him “I don’t want money, I want justice.”

The manager of the nightclub, who activated its sexual