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Spanish police have arrested Brazilian international soccer player Dani Alves on suspicion of sexual assault.
The 39-year-old defender was questioned in Barcelona, where he played for the club for many years. Alves, who now plays in the Mexican league, denies the allegations.
A woman alleged that Alves sexually assaulted her in a nightclub in Barcelona last December.
A spokesman for the Catalan regional police, Musos de Escuadra, said Alves had been summoned to a Barcelona police station where he was “detained” and will be questioned before a judge.
Police in Catalonia said they received a complaint on January 2 from a woman who said Alves had touched her inappropriately.
The alleged sexual assault took place at a popular nightclub in Barcelona on December 30, according to Spanish media reports.
Reports said the player was accused of putting his hands down the woman’s pants.
Alves confirmed he was at the nightclub at the time, but denied any wrongdoing, telling private TV channel Antena 3 earlier this month that he had “never seen” the woman before.
The former Barcelona and Juventus player added, “I was there, in that place, having fun with more people. Everyone knows that I love to dance. I am having a good time, but without invading the space designated for others.”
Alves, who now plays for the Mexican team Pumas Onam, was in Barcelona on vacation after participating with the Brazil national team in the World Cup in Qatar.
A Barcelona court said earlier this month that it had opened an investigation into “an alleged sexual assault offense as a result of a complaint filed by a woman against a soccer player”.