Dani Alves is facing up to 12 years in prison for an alleged sexual assault at a Barcelona nightclub, with his trial set for between October and November this year.
Alves, 40, has been in custody at Brians 2 since January 20 after a 23-year-old woman alleged he had raped her in a toilet at the well-known Sutton club.
The defender, formerly played for Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, has seen several requests to be released on remand rejected and he will remain behind bars.
However, the high court in Barcelona rejected the recent appeal made by Alves to be released from remand.
READ MORE:Â Sexual Assault: Court Sentences Dani Alves To Prison Without Bail
According to a Spanish news outlet, Marca, reports that there are concerns Alves would flee the country if released, potentially back to his native Brazil, which doesn’t extradite citizens abroad.
INFORMATION NIGERIA reports learnt that Alves’ case has been given a trial date this Autumn. The exact timings are yet to be officially confirmed.
Recall that the former Barcelona defender had been detained in January after flying back to Spain from Mexico, where he was playing for UNAM Pumas, following the death of his wife Joana Sanz’s mother.
In a TV interview before his arrest, Alves claimed he had never met his accuser. However, he later changed his story after being held, claiming there was no assault and that there had been consent, and is continuing to plead his innocence.
Indeed, Alves has admitted to cheating on his wife but denies any sexual assault.
Initially, it was reported that Alves had been accused of putting his hands down the woman’s underwear inside the club, before it emerged that the accuser had alleged she had been slapped round the face and raped in the toilet.
