Brazilian footballer Dani Alves has spoken publicly for the first time since being taken into custody by Catalan police, where he awaits trial accused of sexual assault. He claims that he wanted to give his side of the story, and says he forgives the victim for telling a false story, as he sees it.
The interview took place with La Vanguardia, and was covered by both MD and Sport.
“I have decided to give this interview, my first interview since I have been here, so that people know what I think. I want them to know the story from what I experienced in the early hours in that bathroom.”
Alves was keen to reduce the incident down to her version of events against his.
“Until now, a very scary story of fear and terror has been told, which has nothing to do with what happened, nor with what I did. Everything that happened and did not happen in there only she and I know.”
The Brazilian claims that the pair had consensual sex in the bathroom of a nightclub, while Alves is accused of forcing her into penetrative sex. He admits they ‘barely talked’ in the lead up to their encounter in the bathroom.
“We had been dancing very close for a while. We didn’t kiss, or anything. But it was evident from the movements and the looks that there was an attraction.”
The victim alleges that Alves threw her on the ground, hit her and insulted her, as well as preventing her from leaving.
“None of this is true. But there she is, it’s on her conscience. She never told me to stop. She didn’t make any gesture of wanting to leave. The door was open at all times, she could have left because I remained seated practically all while on the toilet seat.”
It is also put to Alves that there are fingerprints from the woman on the bathroom mirror and the sink, where she alleges the sexual encounter took place.
“I don’t know when she touched those places. But none of those movements that she has said that I forced her to do are true and the scratch is from remaining on her knees while she performed fellatio on me. There is not a single mark on her body that explains the violence with which she says I moved her in the bathroom.”
Alves then explained, in his words, what happened after this occurred.
“That night, when the woman I have a problem with comes out of the bathroom behind me, I stay by my table for a while. I’m not there for long because it’s late. I’m with my friend Bruno and other people approach me before I’m leaving. When I leave the disco through the exit corridor, I know from the images that I pass near where the woman is crying. I didn’t see her.”
“If I had seen her cry, I would have stopped to ask what was happening. And at that moment, if someone in charge of the disco had asked me to wait because a young woman claimed that I had sexually assaulted her, I am not going home. That same day I show up at a police station to clarify what has happened.”
The 40-year-old claims he has a clear conscience on the matter, but questions if the alleged victim did.
“Well, no matter how I think about it, I don’t know either. It occurs to me that there is someone who gave her bad advice. Who felt bad after doing it, who took a step forward and who hasn’t known how to get out of the mess she was in. She has gotten into and into which she has gotten me. I appeal to her conscience. There has not been a single night that I have not slept peacefully. Not a single night. I have a clear conscience. I have never voluntarily hurt anyone. And neither did I hurt her that night. I don’t know if she has a clear conscience, if she sleeps well at night. But I forgive her,” Alves said.
Alves would later go on to explain that he had changed his testimony several times in order to try and protect his marriage, in an attempt to keep then partner Joana Sanz in the dark over the incident. Initially he denied having ever seen the alleged victim.
“No-one said anything to me there. I left Sutton [the nightclub he was at] calm. I got home. I showered because my wife was already asleep, and I was ashamed of infidelity. I was using the soap angrily. I went to sleep in another bed. I returned to Mexico two days later to play, and in some media it was published that a young woman accused Dani Alves of sexual assault. I called my lawyer, Miraida Puentes. She consulted with the Mossos and in the courts, and she assured me that there was no complaint and that I could travel and leave Spain with complete peace of mind. That’s why I left.”
He remains in prison without bail, as he has been considered a flight risk. His native Brazil does not have an extradition deal in place with Spain. Alves’ trial is scheduled to take place in October or November.
