[p]Former Barcelona player Dani Alves [/b], who is currently under investigation by Spanish authorities for a sexual assault case, has been denied bail and will remain in jail. The court's decision was made on Monday, June 12.
Alves [/b]was initially detained in January after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a nightclub in Barcelona on December 30. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the sexual encounter was consensual.
After reviewing the initial investigation by authorities and hearing testimonies from Alves, the alleged victim, and witnesses, a judge ordered that the former Barcelona defender be held in custody without bail. A trial date has not yet been set.
On Monday, a Barcelona court upheld the decision, considering Alves to be a potential flight risk and stating that he should remain in jail until the investigation is completed. A similar request for bail made by Alves' defense team in May was also rejected by the court.
Alves' lawyers attempted to undermine the testimony of the alleged victim and other witnesses by presenting security camera footage showing flirtatious behavior between Alves and the woman at the nightclub. However, the court emphasized in its ruling that such behavior should not "in any way justify an eventual sexual assault."
Alves' legal team argued that he posed no flight risk and would comply with any court-imposed measures, such as surrendering his passports and wearing a tracking device, if granted bail. They also mentioned that Alves and his family had plans to reside in Barcelona. However, the court dismissed this argument due to the recent registration of his children as residents only a few weeks ago.