Elche CF have frozen an agreement regarding the renewal of striker Rafa Mir, as they await the outcome of his trial for sexual assault this Thursday. The club has finalised a contract setup should they wish to retain the player or transfer him to a third club, but a definitive decision remains unmade. While Elche are satisfied with his sporting performances and could potentially make a financial profit through him, the forward must sit on the defendant’s bench today, Thursday 28th May, at the Fourth Section of the Provincial Court of Valencia to face charges of sexual assault against a woman.
Mir has been playing for Elche during the 2025/26 season on a season-long loan from Sevilla FC, where he has one year remaining on his contract. The loan deal, agreed last summer, saw Sevilla cover the majority of the player’s salary. It also included a purchase option for Elche, which is considered highly advantageous given the valuation for which he could later be transferred.
Born in Cartagena and turning 29 in June, Rafa Mir has enjoyed an impressive start to his stint under manager Eder Sarabia. He has made 27 league appearances and scored eight goals, making him the team’s second-highest goalscorer of the concluding season. He sits just behind André da Silva, who scored ten times, and ahead of Álvaro Rodríguez, who scored seven. Were it not for physical setbacks that caused him to miss ten matches through injury, Mir would likely have matched his career-best goal scoring tallies, such as the 13 goals in 38 games he achieved with SD Huesca in the 2020/21 season, or the 10 goals in 34 matches for Sevilla the following year.
The extension agreement reflects the player’s own desire to remain at Elche, but his upcoming date in court represents an unavoidable situation for the club. The prosecution is seeking a prison sentence of ten and a half years for events dating back to the night of 31st August 2024. The prosecution accuses Mir, who was playing for Valencia CF at the time, of sexual assault and an offence against physical integrity. In addition to the custodial sentence, the prosecution is requesting a ten-year restraining and communication order regarding the victim, who was 21 at the time of the events. They are also seeking a disqualification from working in roles involving contact with minors for an additional eight years, alongside seven years of supervised release once the prison sentence is served. Conversely, Mir’s defence maintains that the actions were not criminal as there was consent.
Beyond his performances on the pitch and the ongoing criminal proceedings, Mir’s time at Elche was also marked by an accusation from RCD Espanyol player Omar El Hilal, who alleged that Mir directed a racist insult at him during a second-half match between the teams. However, the Royal Spanish Football Federation shelved the disciplinary case a few weeks ago after finding no evidence to support the claims, a decision that became final last week after neither party appealed.
Alongside Rafa Mir, André da Silva is also reaching the end of his contract with Elche. His contract included a renewal option linked to a specific number of playing minutes, but he did not meet the minimum threshold, leaving any potential extension open to separate negotiations. Meanwhile, forwards Álvaro Rodríguez and Abiel “El Tanque” Osorio, who was signed in January and loaned to Defensa y Justicia, remain under contract.
