A Spanish appeals court overturned former Brazilian football player Dani Alves’ conviction for rape on Friday, arguing that his trial had “shortcomings” and “inaccuracies” and was biased.
A young woman raped in a Barcelona nightclub’s VIP bathroom on December 31, 2022, and Alves was given a four-and-a-half year jail sentence in February of that year.
After posting the one million euros ($1.1 million) bail set by the court, the 41-year-old, who won the Champions League three times with Barcelona, was released from jail in March. He is currently appealing his release.
The player’s conviction was “annulled” by the appeals court, which according to the appeals court’s four judges “unanimously” accepted.
The court also rejected the public prosecutors’ appeal for a nine-year, more severe jail term.
In its decision, the court said that Alves’ trial contained “a number of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and contradictions regarding the facts, the legal assessment, and its consequences.”
According to the prosecution’s witness statements, the victim claimed that Alves had violently forced her to have sex despite begging him to let her go, causing her “anguish and terror” while she testified behind a screen to protect her identity during the trial.
Alves first claimed he had never met the woman, but later later claimed they had sex over a sexual encounter.
The victim’s attorneys claimed during the trial that she had been “glued” to the player while dancing in a nightclub.
Alves was a key member of a formidable Barcelona team that won 126 caps for Brazil and the Copa America twice, winning the title six times.
Along with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, he also won European league titles.
The Madrid court hearing on Friday announced that legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to report income to the country’s tax office.
The 65-year-old Italian is accused of having allegedly cost Spain’s Treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in unreported earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015 and is being sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.
According to a court spokesman, the trial will begin on Wednesday and will likely last two days.
Read more about the Premier League’s Alternate Transfer Window to accommodate the Club World Cup.
Ancelotti, who has won a total of five Champions League titles, including three with Real, must be present, he added.
Even though he himself claimed to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated that his residence was in Madrid, the prosecution accuses him of only declaring the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid in his tax returns for those two years.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly starting a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to stifle his extra income from both his image rights and those of others, including real estate.
Ancelotti  was ordered to go on trial for the affair in a Spanish court in 2023, but there was no fix date.
When asked about the case, Angelotti claimed last year that the affair was “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon.”
He joined Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, and then became a Bayern Munich employee the following year.
The former international midfielder from Italy, who won the European Cup twice with AC Milan before making his Real Madrid debut in 2021.
Along with his success in the Champions League, he has also won domestic titles with Real Madrid and Milan, Chelsea in England, Bayern Munich in Germany, and Paris Saint-Germain in France.
Spain, Portugal, and Morocco will submit an application to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup, according to the Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Friday.
“The FIFA World Cup, the most significant sporting event in the world, is the best way to raise the profile of women’s sport,” says one expert. On the sidelines of a conference held at the University of Madrid, Rafael Louzan, president of RFEF, stated that “we are currently working on it.”
Following a number of recent non-sporting scandals, the Spanish federation is doing their part to restore the organization’s reputation.
Also, read: Ancelotti’s Real Madrid team to face tax allegedly fraud charges.
Spanish flag
After forcibly kissing World Cup champion Jenni Hermoso on the lips following Spain’s victory in Sydney in September 2023, former president Luis Rubiales resigned in disgrace.
After initially taking over the reins on an interim basis, his successor Pedro Rocha, who was suspended in December 2024, was replaced with Louzan.
In a new format, Spain will host the 2030 men’s World Cup along with Morocco and Portugal in the first group of matches that will take place in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay to mark the centenary of the first competition.
This summer, Manchester City and Chelsea will have two transfer windows in the Premier League to allow them to sign players for the Club World Cup.
In a special window between June 1 and June 10, clubs in the English top flight will now be able to hire and retain players.
Any national association with teams competing in the new expanded Club World Cup, which kicks off in the United States on June 14, is eligible to register for the exceptional registration period that was approved by FIFA in October.
With a $1 billion prize pot on offer to the 32 teams competing, the winners of the competition could win up to $125 million in prize money.
Due to winning the Champions League in 2021 and 2023, respectively, Chelsea and City are England’s two representatives.
READ MORE: Alexander-Arnold’s Choice Between Dream Madrid Move and Lasting Liverpool Legacy
Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool could be signed from Real Madrid sooner than expected, with the England international reportedly close to joining the European champions on a free transfer when his deal expires on June 30.
The Premier League window will be closed again from June 11 to June 15 and reopen on June 16 through Monday, September 1. Due to FIFA regulations, the window can only be closed for a maximum of 12 weeks.
Following allegations that a national team goalkeeper had assisted in the rigging of an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, Kenya on Thursday began a match-fixing investigation.
The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) acknowledged that it was aware of online videos that featured goalkeeper Patrick Matasi, which raised concerns about match-related potential manipulation.
The Kenya football board stated in a statement that FIFA upholds the integrity of football and has launched an official investigation in collaboration with FIFA, CAF, and other relevant authorities.
READ MORE:  , Mbappe, and Vinicius Among Real Madrid Stars Under Investigation by the UEFA Conduct Commission.
We reaffirm our zero tolerance for match-tasting and are committed to keeping our competition’s credibility afloat.
An unnamed man is reportedly speaking with Matasi about a plan to fix a match in exchange for money in the secretly filmed online amateur video that was seen by AFP.
In a 2025 AFCON qualifier in Yaounde in October, the former AFC Leopards and Tusker goalkeeper, who also played for Ethiopian side Coffee Sports Club, participated in Kenya’s 4-1 defeat to former African champions Cameroon.
Kenya’s chances of making it to the Moroccan finals were thwarted by the defeat, which also resulted in Engin Firat resigning as coach.
Matasi did not play in the recent World Cup qualifiers against Gabon and Gambia because of the new coach’s suspension, Benni McCarthy.
In recent years, Kenyan football has experienced the dark side of match-fixing errors, with 14 players and two coaches being suspended by the FKF in January 2023 as a result of a tip-off about cheating in the national league.
FIFA banned four Kenyan-based players from playing in league games in February 2020, one of whom was permanently banned for life.
Following the same scandal, five Kenyan referees received additional suspensions.
Independent think tank the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis warned that match-fixing had spread to all levels of Kenyan football, from grassroots competitions to professional leagues.
In a report from January 2024, the organization stated that “This has left a trail of disillusionment among fans and undermined the integrity of football.”
Regarding whether a local hero can leave Merseyside without leaving behind a lasting legacy, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s proposed move from Liverpool to Real Madrid has divided opinion.
Alexander-Arnold, a six-year-old, signed for the Reds 20 years ago and has since won a record-scorching number of Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and Club World Cup titles.
A mural emblazoned with the phrase “I’m just a normal lad from Liverpool whose dream has just come true” adorns the player’s status and stands just metres from the team’s Anfield stadium.
However, the choice he makes in the upcoming weeks regarding his future will affect how he will be remembered in his hometown for years to come.
Madrid will not have to pay a transfer fee for a right-back who has broken Premier League records for creative output when Alexander-Arnold’s contract expires at the end of the season.
The 26-year-old’s key priorities are discussed in this interview with AFP Sport before a career-defining call.
Madrid’s compelling argument
Real Madrid players celebrate their victory following the second leg of the Champions League’s 16th-round game between Club Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid FC at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on March 12, 2025. (Photo by Thomas COEX/AFP)
Liverpool are by far the most successful English club in the history of the competition, taunting their Premier League rivals with their six European Cup victories.
Madrid, however, have won six of their past 11 titles, including six in the European Cup or Champions League.
Alexander-Arnold would join a cast that includes Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior along with his close friend and England colleague Jude Bellingham on a weekly basis in addition to the lifestyle advantages a switch to the Spanish sunshine offers.
Alexander-Arnold could become the first full-back to receive the Ballon d’Or as a result of the spotlight at Santiago Bernabeu, which is currently in its most advanced condition.
Alexander-Arnold stated earlier this season to Sky Sports, “I believe I can (win it).” You can only say, “I gave it everything I got,” when you retire in the morning.
It doesn’t matter how many medals you win or how many trophies you win. What you give to the game determines whether you succeed at it or not.
Alexander-Arnold is in a strong position to earn millions from a signing-on bonus without having to pay a sizable transfer fee because he has kept his contract low.
And he can refute any contention that staying at Anfield offers little benefit.
By the time Alexander-Arnold’s current deal expires, Liverpool will be a two-time English champion along with six other significant trophies. The Premier League is currently 12 points clear of Liverpool.
Steve McManaman, who also signed for Real Madrid on a free transfer in 1999, told the BBC, “His legacy, I hope, is one of an outstanding homegrown footballer who’s done incredibly well for this club.”
Alexander-Arnold’s Choice Between a Long-Lasting Liverpool Legacy or a Dream Madrid Move
Follow Gerrard’s example, then?  ,
Steven Gerrard, the English Premier League coach for Aston Villa and Chelsea, reacts on October 16, 2022, at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP)
McManaman’s four years in the Spanish capital included two Champions League victories and two La Liga victories, but he is being used as a defense for Alexander-Arnold’s decision to stay.
It’s about how he is perceived and his legacy at Liverpool. Do you prefer to look like McManaman or Steven Gerrard? Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, a one-club legend, criticized Alexander-Arnold’s choice.
“He (McManaman) attended Real Madrid and won cups, but he is not adored. If (Alexander-Arnold) stays, he will be remembered as one of the club’s best players, not far behind Gerrard.
Alexander-Arnold would become Virgil van Dijk’s natural heir because he is already the club’s vice-captain.
He is a member of a team that regularly competes at the top of the Premier League and Champions League, in contrast to Gerrard, McManaman, and Michael Owen, who left Liverpool for Madrid in 2004.
Alexander-Arnold could become a front-runner for future trophy victories as a local legend if he stays.
Liverpool are just the latest to realize just how difficult it is to resist the attraction of Madrid.
