Rafa Mir sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for sexual assault

A court in Valencia sentenced Spanish footballer Rafa Mir on Monday to eight and a half years in prison after convicting him of sexual assault and injury. The Valencian High Court said the ruling is not final and can be appealed. According to Marca, the court also ordered Mir to pay 64,000 euros in compensation to the complainant.

The sentence is made up of seven years for the sexual assault conviction and 18 months for injury. The court also barred him from coming within 500 meters of the complainant for 10 years. Mir, who played last season for Elche on loan from Sevilla, responded on social media, saying, "I do not agree with the ruling and we will appeal in the coming days. I continue to believe in justice."

The same case also convicted footballer Pablo Jara, who received two and a half years in prison and a fine for sexual assault, violating moral integrity and minor injury. He was also ordered to pay 6,280 euros in compensation to another complainant. The incidents took place in the early hours of September 1, 2024, at Mir's home in the upscale Tira area near Valencia's training complex.

According to the verdict, the two women met the players hours earlier at a club in Valencia and later went with them to Mir's house. During the trial, Mir denied assault and said the encounter was consensual, but the court accepted the complainants' version and convicted both men. The ruling followed a trial held on May 28 and can be appealed to higher courts. Mir scored eight goals in 27 matches for Elche last season, and earlier played for Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Huesca and Las Palmas. He also won Olympic silver with Spain in Tokyo and made 10 appearances for the under-21 side.