Xavi says he is shocked by the arrest of Daniel Alves

Xavi Hernández, coach of Barcelona, ​​commented on the arrest of Daniel Alves, his former club partner, who is held in custody in Spain and faces charges of the crime of sexual assault. The former Spanish player revealed surprise with the case, said he was in “a state of shock”, but was brief in wanting the Spanish justice to make the best decision.

“It’s difficult to comment on a situation like this. Like everyone else, I’m surprised, shocked, in a state of shock. Knowing Dani, it’s a subject that surprised me. It’s a matter of justice and justice will dictate whatever it is. I can’t say nothing more”, said Xavi during a press conference that precedes the duel against Getafe this Sunday (22), for the Spanish Championship.

Xavi and Daniel Alves were teammates at Barcelona as players. They met in 2008, when the Brazilian was signed from Sevilla, and played together until 2015. They met again in 2022, when Xavi was already a coach and the side returned to the team as a player.

SPANISH CRIMINAL CODE

Spain’s Penal Code was amended in October last year with a new law based on the idea that sexual crimes must be typified based on the victim’s consent. Thus, all crimes of a sexual nature, regardless of whether or not there was violence, became “sexual assaults”.

The law, called “Only yes is yes”, was created to expand the scope of the crime of sexual violence. All non-consensual sexual acts were now considered violence. Contradictorily, however, sentences for some sexual crimes have been reduced.

The penal code of Spain considers sexual aggression “acts of a sexual nature that are carried out with recourse to violence, intimidation or abuse of a situation of superiority or vulnerability of the victim”. The penalty provided is from one to 15 years for crimes of sexual assault, depending on the severity, but it can also be reduced to fines.

According to articles 179 and 180 of the Spanish sexual assault law, the penalty can reach 15 years when “the sexual assault consists of carnal access via the vagina, anus or mouth, or the introduction of limbs or bodily objects by either of the first two routes. “. Sexual harassment without penetration can be classified as an attack against sexual freedom, with a lower penalty of up to 4 years.

THE CASE

Judge Maria Concepción Canton Martín ordered the player’s arrest last Friday (20). He was arrested while giving testimony about the case. The Public Prosecutor’s Office asked for the preventive detention of the 39-year-old athlete, without the right to bail., and the holder of the Investigative Court 15 of Barcelona accepted the request, ordering the arrest. Pumas, from Mexico, announced that Daniel Alves’ employment contract with the club will be terminated for just cause.

Daniel Alves is accused of having committed sexual assault against a woman in the early hours of December 30. The accusation refers to an episode that allegedly took place at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona. The player, who defended the Brazilian team at the World Cup in Qatar, would have put his hand between the underwear of the woman who made the accusation. She looked for her friends and security at the club after the incident.

The security team at the nightclub called the Catalan police, who took a statement from the victim. She also underwent medical examination at a hospital. Daniel Alves left the scene before the police arrived.

According to the Spanish press, the contradiction in the right-back’s testimony was decisive for the country’s Public Ministry to ask for arrest and the judge to accept. In early January, the player gave an interview to the program “Y Ahora Sonsoles“, from Antena 3, in which he confirmed that he was in the same nightclub as the woman who accuses him, but denied having touched the complainant without her consent and said that he did not even know her.

In the statement, however, according to the media in Spain, the athlete claimed to have had consensual relations with the woman, whose name was not revealed. The alleged sexual crime allegedly took place in a unisex bathroom in the VIP area of ​​the nightclub.

According to the Spanish newspaper El Periódico, the Brazilian locked, assaulted and raped the woman in the bathroom in the VIP area of ​​the nightclub. He denies the accusations. The judge argued in the decision to arrest the player that there was a risk of flight, since the athlete no longer lives in Spain and has the financial resources to leave the country at any time. Furthermore, Spain does not have an extradition agreement with Brazil. Daniel Alves must be arrested until the trial, still no date set. He is at the Brians 1 Penitentiary Center on the outskirts of Barcelona.