Mueez Ajao
– Brazil international Dani Alves is being held on charges of sexual abuse after giving a statement to police on Friday.
– Alves, 39, has been transferred to a court in Barcelona where he will be questioned by a judge, who will decide the next steps to take in the case. A police source could not confirm at this stage whether that would take place on Friday or over the weekend.
– An investigation was launched earlier this month over an allegation that Alves sexually assaulted a woman in a nightclub in Barcelona in December. Alves denies any wrongdoing.
Also Read: Dani Alves under investigation over sexual assault allegations
– The UNAM Pumas player returned to Spain from Mexico this week to face the charges. He presented himself at a local police station in Barcelona on Friday and was then taken to the Ciutat de la Justicia by officers pending examination from the judge.
– A woman first filed a police report against Alves on Jan. 2, alleging that he touched her inappropriately at Sutton, a nightclub in Barcelona, under her clothes without consent during a night out on Dec. 30.
– After the incident, the woman said she told security what had happened and local police were informed and took witness statements. The former Barca, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain defender denied any wrongdoing in an interview with the Spanish television channel Antena 3 this month.
– “I would like to deny everything, first,” he said. “I was there, in that location, with more people, having a good time. Everybody knows that I love to dance. Having a good time, but without invading the space of others.
– “I’m very sorry, but I don’t know who that young lady is, I don’t know who she is, I’ve never seen her in my life.”
