Dani Alves sentenced to four years in jail for nightclub sex attack

Brazilian football star Dani Alves has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub, a Spanish court ruled on Thursday.

The three-judge panel sentenced Alves to four years and six months.

Alves, 40, denied any wrongdoing during a trial that took place over three days this month. The decision can be appealed.

The court found Alves sexually assaulted his victim early in the morning of December 31, 2022, when she said he raped her in a bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub.

State prosecutors had sought a nine-year prison sentence for Alves while the lawyers representing his accuser wanted 12 years.

His defence asked for his acquittal, or if found guilty a one-year sentence plus 50,000 euro (£42,765) compensation for the victim.

Alves has been in jail since being detained on January 20, 2023. His requests for bail were denied because the court considered him a flight risk.

Brazil does not extradite its own citizens when they are sentenced in other countries.