Sports
Dani Alves is still detained in Spain because he was unable to post bail.
Dani Alves, a former football player for Brazil and convicted rapist, will stay behind bars until at least Monday after he was unable to post the one million euro bail that a Barcelona judge had set in order to secure his release while he filed an appeal.
Prosecutors were taken aback by the court’s unexpected ruling on Wednesday because, since his arrest in January 2023, the football player had repeatedly been denied bail due to his high risk of fleeing.
Alves, 40, one of the most accomplished football players in the world, was found guilty last month of sexually assaulting a young lady early on December 31, 2022, in the VIP restroom of a Barcelona nightclub.
His attorneys quickly filed an appeal of the verdict, arguing on Tuesday that the man had already spent 25% of his four and a half-year sentence in pre-trial custody and should be released on bond.
The request was granted by the Barcelona court one day later, subject to Alves posting a million euro ($1.08 million) bond, giving up his Spanish and Brazilian passports, staying in the nation, and appearing in court “on a weekly basis.”
However, he has been forced to stay in jail because he has missed the daily deadline of 2:00 pm for providing the monies.
Legal sources claimed that Alves will have to stay in jail over the weekend until the court office reopens on Monday. On Friday, his attorney requested a one-hour extension until 3:00 pm, but his representatives had not deposited the money by then.
Since his incarceration in January 2023, the football player’s financial circumstances have gotten worse. His defense team argued that the case caused him to be fired by the Mexican club Pumas UNAM and that other revenue streams dried up.
Alves has been detained at a prison close to Barcelona ever since his arrest. It can take several months to finish the appeals procedure.
The victim’s attorney fiercely criticized the court’s decision to give him bail, calling it “justice for the rich.”