Dani Alves remains free until the appeal of the rape charge; return 150 thousand € to the father of the former teammate

Former Brazilian footballer Dani Alves he will remain free until his appeal against a rape conviction is heard. The 39-year-old was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison in February, but was released on bail until the decision is ratified by the appeals court, after posting a bail fee of 1 million d euros.

Part of the reason that Alves was given such a short sentence (the violation can be punished with a sentence of 4-12 years), was that the judge considered a payment of €150,000 made to the victim in damages immediately as and a mitigating factor in his punishment. , reducing the nine-year sentence requested by the prosecutor. That money had been loaned to him by Neymar Junior's father.

ESPN say that Alves has now returned that money to the Neymar family. Neymar senior had remarked that they did not contribute to the bail fee of 1 million euros, after understanding the verdict against the former defender of Barcelona and Sevilla.

Meanwhile, the prosecution had tried to appeal the bail decision, but that appeal was rejected by the court, due to the fact that it is not a significant risk of flight. He will remain free until the appeal is heard, although he is not allowed to leave the country and must report to the court once a week.