Police in Barcelona have detained Brazilian international Dani Alves and taken him to court for questioning, after he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a local nightclub.
The footballer admitted that the alleged sex crime occurred late last month at the famous city nightclub Sutton.
“I don’t know who this lady is,” he insisted after a court confirmed it had launched a formal investigation. I don’t know her name, I don’t know who she is, and I’ve never seen her in my life.”
The former Barcelona defender, who is currently playing for UNAM Pumas in Mexico, was detained today at an undisclosed location and taken to a police station in the Les Corts neighborhood to give a statement.
According to reports, the 39-year-old, who made history last month by becoming the oldest Brazilian to play in a FIFA World Cup, had his police interview arranged by lawyers.
According to reports, he would be arrested and fingerprinted as part of standard procedure before being questioned and brought before the court overseeing the alleged sex assault for further questioning.
“A man accused of an indecent assault at a nightclub in Barcelona late last year has been arrested,” a spokesman for the local Mossos D’Esquadra confirmed.
“He has now been taken to court after making a statement to police. It will be up to the court now to decide what measures to take.”
“Barcelona Court of Instruction Number 15 has opened proceedings over an alleged crime of sexual assault after a woman complained about a football player,” a court representative confirmed ten days ago.
The footballer and the woman have yet to be deposed in court, according to the investigating magistrate’s spokesman.
This week, it was revealed that Alves had flown to Spain from Mexico with the club’s permission after his Tenerife-born model wife Joana Sanz’s mother died.
A 47-second toilet claim was made public two days after initial reports of an alleged sex assault involving Alves appeared in the reputable Spanish daily ABC.