Former Barcelona star Dani Alves was forced to spend this weekend in prison after he failed to provide funds to pay his parole bail. Dani Alves was sentenced to four and a half years in prison last month after being found guilty of sexually assaulting and raping a woman at a Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve 2023.
However, a court in Spain granted him conditional release on bail of 1 million euros after he appealed. The conditions are that Alves must surrender his Brazilian and Spanish passports and is prohibited from leaving Barcelona. He also has to report to the courthouse every week. He also has to maintain a distance of 1000 meters and is prohibited from contacting the victim.
However, Alves has failed to provide the required bail money for three days and the court did not receive payment at the weekend. As a result, he had to languish behind bars.
Alves and his representatives continue to look for ways to get the money, including releasing assets and asking the Spanish Tax Agency to pay the money promised to them. According to ESPN, Alves’ representatives are confident they will receive the funds early next week.
Previously, the father of Brazilian star, Neymar, had provided financial assistance to his son’s former teammate at Barcelona. However, the court’s decision means that Neymar’s father will no longer help Alves financially. Alves himself has served 14 months of his four and a half year prison sentence since last year.
Brazil coach, Dorival Junior, expressed his concern for the victims and families of the victims of the rape case by Dani Alves and Robinho. Currently Robinho is starting to serve a nine year prison sentence in Brazil. As national team coach, Dorival said that this was a very difficult situation.
“Firstly, I think this is a very difficult situation. Robinho is my player, a fantastic person, very professional,” Dorival said in a press conference ahead of Brazil’s friendly match. “I didn’t have the opportunity to work with Alves, but we all know his story in football. This is a difficult time for us to reveal the whole situation,” explained Dorival.
Dorival deeply regrets this incident, especially for the victims and their families who felt the impact. He also emphasized that there must be sanctions if a type of crime is proven. “If any type of crime is proven, sanctions must be imposed,” he said. In this case, the coach was thinking more about the victim than the two stars who had been proven guilty. “I care more about the victims, their families, and also their families. “I know how painful it is,” said Dorival.
On the other hand, the President of the Brazilian Football Federation, Ednaldo Rodrigues, said the case against Alves and Robinho was the darkest chapter in the history of sports in his country.
