Spanish footballer Rafael Mir, formerly of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest, has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison after a Valencia court found him guilty of sexual assault.
According to reports, the 28-year-old received a seven-year sentence for sexual assault and a further one year and six months for assault causing bodily harm.
The court also ordered him to pay 64,000 euros (£55,000) in compensation to the victim.
The Valencia court stated on Monday that Mir “sexually assaulted one of the women in the swimming pool and in a bathroom” at his house in Betera, after he and his friend Pablo Jara met the two women at a nightclub in Valencia. Both men were arrested in September 2024 following the accusations.
Mir rejected the verdict. “I disagree with the ruling and we will appeal in the coming days. I continue to have faith in the justice system,” he posted on Instagram on Monday.
His lawyer had previously stated that the intercourse was consensual and that Mir categorically denied the accusations.
Jara received a two-year sentence for sexual assault against the second victim and a further six months for an offence against moral integrity, along with a fine of 6,280 euros (£5,400).
Sevilla, who hold Mir’s registration, condemned the conduct at the centre of the case. “Sevilla FC expresses its utmost respect for judicial proceedings and expresses our firm and unequivocal condemnation of any type of violence, abuse, or sexual assault,” the club said.
“Such conduct has no place in our society or in the values promoted by sport,” the club added.
Mir joined Wolves from Valencia in 2018 but made only four appearances for the club. He moved to Sevilla in 2021 after loan spells at Nottingham Forest, Las Palmas and Huesca. He also represented Spain at the Tokyo Olympics.
At the time of his arrest, he was on loan at Valencia from Sevilla and currently plays for La Liga side Elche, also on loan from the same club.
Both men can appeal their sentences.
