In February, the city of Juazeiro stated that it would not comment on the matter until the matter was concluded, considering that the player filed a request for appeal, and reported that it had not received official requests to remove the work.
Produced by artist Leo Santana, the statue is located in the central region of the city and displays Daniel Alves in life size with the Brazilian national team shirt and a football at his feet. Opened in 2020, the work was vandalized several times after the player’s arrest.
Shortly after the case came to light, the monument woke up with a black bag over its head, wrapped with tape. In February this year, the monument was seen covered with white stains, which were cleaned by the city of Juazeiro. The following month, the statue was sprayed with graffiti and ended up being cleaned by a woman who claimed to be the athlete’s cousin.
CONDEMNATION AND FREEDOM
Daniel Alves’ trial lasted three days and ended on February 7, approximately 13 months after the player’s preventive arrest, which took place on January 20, 2023. Sentenced to four years and six months for the crime of rape, the football player 40 years old paid the amount of 150 thousand euros (approximately R$ 800 thousand) to the Spanish Court and is appealing the decision in freedom.
Daniel Alves’ provisional release does not mean that he was acquitted. After the conviction in the Barcelona Court, the case is evaluated by the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (STJC). There, there is a request from the defense for the Brazilian’s acquittal and another from the Public Ministry to increase the sentence imposed – which also determines five years of supervised release and ten years of distance from the victim after the sentence is served. To be granted provisional release, in addition to paying bail, he also had to hand over his passports (Brazilian and Spanish) and appear weekly at the Barcelona Court of Justice.
