Brazilian footballer Dani Alves will seek at least a reduced sentence for his alleged rape charge by claiming he was too drunk to know what he was doing.
The ex-Sevilla and Barcelona right-back is set to sit trial for alleged rape in a little over two weeks, with the victim’s lawyer asking for the full 12-year sentence and €150k in damages. Alves has changed his testimony on four occasions, given five different versions of events in the lead-up to the trial.
Alves has spent the last 12 months in custody after handing himself in. The incident occurred on the 30th of December 2022, when Alves allegedly raped the victim in a Barcelona nightclub bathroom. It was recently revealed that Alves would change his version of events again, and now El Periodico (via Sport) have given more details.
The defence will use a drinks receipt as evidence, and also call on Alves’ wife Joana Sanz, who he has since separated from, as a witness. They will ask her to confirm that Alves called her intoxicated, saying that he was too drunk to know what he was doing.
While the report claims they will seek an innocent verdict, it seems much more likely that it is a strategy looking for a reduced sentence rather than being cleared of the crime.
