A sentence from the Provincial Court of Valencia has dropped like a bombshell, sentencing football player Rafa Mir to eight and a half years in prison as the perpetrator of a crime of sexual assault and another of injury.
The 28-year-old striker from Cartagena immediately advanced his intention to appeal against the ruling via a brief social media post expressing his disagreement and reiterating his trust in justice. Mir has ten days from yesterday, Tuesday 16th June, to seek protection from the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV).
The ruling sentences the player, who spent the 2025/26 season on loan at Elche CF from Sevilla FC, to eight and a half years in prison for a crime of sexual assault and another of injury committed against a young woman during the night of 31st August 2024 at the footballer’s home in Betera (Valencia).
In addition to the custodial sentence, the ruling sets compensation of 64,000 euro for the victim. During the trial held on 28 May, Mir maintained his innocence and argued that the relationship was consensual, asserting that “everything was consensual” and that the night just “flowed that way”. Conversely, the accuser, a woman who was 21 years old at the time of the events, told the court of a double sexual assault involving penetration, stating that during the incident she began to cry, experienced difficulty breathing, felt afraid and asked the player to stop, a request he failed to heed.
The prosecution initially sought a ten-and-a-half-year prison sentence, though the Court reduced this to eight and a half years, with seven years corresponding to the crime of sexual assault and one and a half years for the injuries. Furthermore, Mir is banned from coming within 500 metres of the victim, her family, her home or her workplace, and cannot communicate with her for ten years. Once the prison sentence is served, he must undergo a further seven years of supervised release.
However, the footballer’s procedural situation could see new movements in the coming days. Both the prosecution and the private accusation have the option to request his provisional imprisonment to prevent any potential flight risk following the conviction. This is a measure the Court cannot grant on its own initiative, but only at the request of one of the parties.
Moreover, this request can be raised at any time, regardless of whether the defence (or the accusations) appeal the sentence before the TSJCV. If provisional imprisonment is granted, it could last for a maximum of half the imposed sentence, a timeframe that would easily allow for the resolution of ordinary appeals pending in the judicial process (in addition to the one before the TSJCV, there is also the Supreme Court). In the meantime, and until all appeal avenues are exhausted, the conviction is not final.
Following the ruling, Sevilla FC expressed maximum respect for judicial decisions and reiterated their rejection of all forms of violence, abuse or sexual assault. In an official statement, the Seville club stressed its firm and resounding condemnation of such behaviour, reminding that actions of this nature have no place in society or within the values represented by sport.
Elche CF stated they learned of the ruling through the media and explained that they did not yet possess the full text, thus avoiding an immediate assessment. The club noted that once they have the text and can rigorously analyse it, they will make the appropriate decisions, adding that they respect the ongoing judicial procedure.
