Spanish footballer Mina gets four years in prison for sexual abuse

MADRID : A Spanish court has handed soccer player Santi Mina a four-year prison sentence for sexually abusing a woman in the southern town of Mojacar in 2017, court documents showed on Wednesday, prompting his club Celta Vigo to temporarily suspend him.

Mina, who had been accused alongside Ibiza footballer David Goldar, was also granted a restraining order and will have to pay compensation of 50,000 euros ($52,650) to the victim, showed the ruling by an Almeria court dated April 26.

Goldar was cleared of all charges, the court said.

Mina was briefly detained in June 2017 after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman while on holiday in Mojacar.

The ruling can be appealed in higher courts before the sentence is carried out.

"RC Celta respects the player's right to a defence, but is forced to take measures against the events that notoriously undermine the image of the club and directly attack its values," the club said in a statement.

($1 = 0.9497 euros)