Rafa Mir is presently struggling to avoid relegation with Elche, and once the season concludes, he will face legal issues. The striker will appear in court on May 28th to face charges of aggravated sexual assault with penetration and assault on a young woman. According to sources, the alleged incident took place on September 1st, 2024, in a residential area of Bétera (Valencia), while the player was playing for Valencia CF. The trial will take place in the fourth section of Valencia’s Provincial Court.
The prosecution is seeking a ten-and-a-half-year prison sentence for the footballer, as well as a restraining order forbidding him from approaching the victim within 500 meters for 13 years, followed by seven years of supervised release and an eight-year ban on any activities involving minors. In addition, he would have to pay the young woman €64,000 in compensation.
Mir was playing for Valencia on loan from Sevilla when he was detained after a young woman he met at a nightclub made a complaint. She and a friend visited the footballer’s house together with two other mates. The alleged assaults took place early in the morning. The striker had consensual sex with one of the ladies; however, the other woman later claimed that he forced himself on her, shut her in a bathroom and placed his fingers into her vagina. When the companion attempted to exit the house, he was slapped by one of Mir’s buddies, Pablo Jara, who was also prosecuted.
Mir was arrested in September 2024, while playing for Valencia on loan from Sevilla, after being reported by a woman he met at a party and went to her house with a friend of hers and two of the footballer’s Murcia buddies.
The athlete spent two days in jail before appearing before a judge, where he claimed the relationship was mutual. He was released on bail and has been permitted to play football this season for both Valencia and Elche.
In October, a judge from Court Number 8 of the Llíria Court of Instruction decided to prosecute Mir and Jara after conducting all necessary procedures and gathering testimony from victims, accused, neighbours, local police officers from Bétera, and security personnel from the striker’s residential complex. The magistrate feels that “there is evidence, not mere suspicion,” that the assault took place.
Rafa Mir’s defence produced two previously unseen films at the last hearing in October, claiming they “disprove” the victims’ allegations. The parties are currently considering whether the hearing will be held in public or behind closed doors in order to avoid excessive media coverage for both the player and the victims.
