La Liga
Brazilian defender Dani Alves claims consensual sex in assault case
Brazilian soccer player Dani Alves said on Monday he had consensual sex with a woman who has accused him of sexual assault, changing his version of what happened in a Barcelona nightclub in late December.
The 39-year-old, who has been jailed without bail since Jan. 20, appeared before the judge handling the investigation on Monday at his own request, his lawyers said in a statement.
“He assured he didn’t initially tell what had happened and denied the sexual contact because his only priority was to save his marriage,” the statement said.
Alves told the judge there was immediate interest and sexual tension between him and his accuser. “He said that everything that happened inside the restroom was a free and voluntary act. They made love and (she) didn’t say at any time to stop”, the statement added.
Alves had previously denied any sexual encounter with the woman who filed a complaint in January about an alleged sexual assault in a restroom at an exclusive Barcelona nightclub.
Two weeks before his arrest in January, Alves said in a video sent to local TV channel Antena 3 that he did not know who the woman was.
In February, the court rejected Alves’ demand to be released.
A spokesperson for the Barcelona court where Alves testified on Monday declined to comment.
The lawyer representing the alleged victim and a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s body did not respond to a request for comment.
The case has attracted significant attention in Spain, in part because of Alves’ prominence but primarily because sexual assault has remained a dominant political theme since a 2016 gang-rape of a teenager during the San Fermin bull-running festival which led to the toughening of sexual violence laws in the country.
In Spain, a claim of rape is investigated under the general accusation of sexual assault and convictions can lead to jail time of between four and 15 years.
Following his arrest, Alves, who has played in the past for teams such as FC Barcelona and Paris-St-Germain, was fired by Mexico’s Pumas UNAM and his wife, model Joana Sanz, left him.
-Reuters
It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case has said.
Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.
Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.
Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.
A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair, but did not set a date.
Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.
Aside from his success in the Champions League he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
-AFP
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Spain’s former soccer chief Luis Rubiales told Reuters on Thursday he would appeal a court ruling which found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent.-
-Reuters
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