A Spanish court has said a judge has decided to indict Dani Alves following an investigation into sexual assault accusations against the Brazilian footballer.
The judge found evidence of wrongdoing by Alves. He has been in custody since January on accusations of sexual assault at the Barcelona club in December. Alves will be formally indicted after being informed of the decision in court on Wednesday.
Prosecutors will then specify the charges, and a trial date will be set for later this year or early 2024.
The former Barcelona defender denied wrongdoing and said sex with the accuser was consensual, though he admitted to cheating on his wife. Alves' lawyers did not immediately respond to a comment request.
He is expected to remain in jail awaiting trial, and bail requests have been denied because he is considered a flight risk. The player offered to turn in his passport and wear a tracking device. A judge ordered Alves to be jailed after analyzing the initial probe by authorities and hearing testimony from the alleged victim, witnesses, and Alves.
Alves' lawyers unsuccessfully tried to discredit testimony from the alleged victim and other witnesses. They presented security camera footage showing that Alves and the victim flirted at the nightclub.
Dani Alves and wife
The court had said that flirting should not 'in any way justify sexual assault'. Under Spain's sexual consent law passed last year, sexual assault includes a wide array of crimes, from online abuse and groping to rape. Each crime has different punishments. A rape case can carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Alves said previously: 'It will be proven that I am not guilty, and it was a consensual relationship.
'It would never cross my mind to impose a sexual act on anyone.' His wife, model Joana Sanz, confirmed she had split from the footballer in a social media post dated March 15.
In a handwritten letter, she said, It will take years to erase from my memory his way of looking at me. Here is a strong woman moving on to the next stage of her life.'
Alves, 40, was held in custody at Brians 1, a prison in Catalunya at the center of controversies.
Parliament de Catalunya sobre Departamentos Especial de Régimen Cerrado (DERT) heard that prisoners had been locked up for up to 21 hours a day in 2017 testimonies.
One inmate died by suicide after nine months in isolation, reportedly tied up multiple times. Two prison officials were convicted of ill-treatment of an inmate in September 2017. Alves was later moved to neighboring Brians 2 'for his own protection', according to Marca.
Manu Marlasca said on Onda Cero that the move was common for high-profile inmates. Brians 2, meanwhile, is where eccentric tech guru John McAfee was found dead in his prison cell in June 2021.
Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell was also held in prison.
Brians 1 and 2 are Catalan jails for 'famous people.' Dani Alves, 40, has won 42 titles, including three Champions Leagues with Barcelona and two Copa Americas with Brazil. He is widely considered one of the greatest full-backs of all time, a full international for Brazil since 2006, and the nation's second-most-capped player of all time, having made 126 appearances and scoring eight goals.
Alves became the oldest Brazilian to play in a FIFA World Cup by playing in his nation's defeat against Cameroon in the final round of the Group G game. The right back famously played for Barcelona from 2008–2016 and briefly returned to LaLiga for the 2021–22 season.
