International Football
Dani Alves rape victim speaks out: “I didn’t know what was behind that door, I thought there would be another VIP area…I resisted but he was much stronger than me”
According to a Spanish news publication, ‘La Vanguardia‘ former Barcelona Brazilian player, Dani Alves forced the young girl he raped to say that she was “his little whore” during his alleged sexual assault.
The newspaper has published the statement made by the 23 year old girl whose identity is still been protected.
According to the publication, the girl made the statement on January 2, 2023 at the Central Sexual Assault Unit (UCAS) of the Mossos d’Esquadra at the Les Corts police station (Barcelona).
The girl explained that the Brazilian player locked her in a bathroom in the VIP area of the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona and that he raped her, an accusation that Dani Alves denied before the judge.
Reports have it that both stayed in the bathroom for about 15 minutes. This could be gleaned from the recording of the establishment’s security cameras.
According to the statement, the complainant and some friends were invited by the soccer player and a Mexican friend to a VIP table at the venue: “Alves immediately began flirting with the three of them, sticking to them a lot and touching them.”
“I did not know what was behind that door, I thought there would be another VIP area,” said the complainant, who explained that Dani Alves whispered things in her ear that she did not understand because “she should have said them in Portuguese . “
The harsh description of the alleged rape of Dani Alves
Later Dani Alves went behind the victim. “He allegedly grabbed her hand and Alves took it to his manhood,” a gesture that he apparently repeated several times despite her refusal.
‘El Periódico’ publishes the complainant’s version that Dani Alves “ordered her to follow him and enter” the bathroom, and once in the bathroom “Alves forced her to sit on top of him, threw her to the ground, forced her to do oral stimulation of his manhood to which she actively resisted, slapped her, lifted her off the ground, and penetrated her until ejaculating.”
According to ‘La Vanguardia’, the ex-soccer player from Barcelona and Seville forced the young woman to say that she was “his little bitch” during his sexual assault.
“I resisted but he was much stronger than me ,” explained the young woman about the alleged rape she suffered on December 30 at the disco.
The report has it that Dani Alves offered up to three different versions of the events before the judge.
In his statement before the judge, the player acknowledged, according to TV3 , that he was in that discotheque, but he maintained that it was only for a short period of time and he denies the sexual assault that the victim attributed to him.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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