Former Wolves and Nottingham Forest striker Rafael Mir has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison after he was found guilty of sexual assault.
Mir, 28, and his friend Pablo Jara were both arrested in September 2024 after two women accused them of sexual assault at Mir’s home.
Mir’s lawyer said at the time that the intercourse was consensual and that Mir categorically denied the accusations.
In a statement released on Monday, a Valencia court said Mir “sexually assaulted one of the women in the swimming pool and in a bathroom” at his house in Betera after he and Jara met the women at a nightclub in Valencia.
Mir was playing at Valencia on loan from Sevilla at the time of his arrest.
The former Spain Under-23 striker received a seven-year prison sentence for sexual assault and a one-year and six-month sentence for assault causing bodily harm.
Mir, who was also ordered to pay 64,000 euro (£55,000) as compensation for the victim, can appeal the sentence.
“I disagree with the ruling and we will appeal in the coming days. I continue to have faith in the justice system,” Mir posted on Instagram on Monday.
Mir moved to Wolves from Valencia in 2018, but played only four times for the club.
He joined Sevilla in 2021 following loan spells at Nottingham Forest, Las Palmas and Huesca during his time at Wolves, while he was also part of Spain’s team at the Tokyo Olympics.
The forward currently plays for La Liga side Elche, on loan from Sevilla.
In response to Mir’s sentence, Sevilla stated its “utmost respect for judicial proceedings and expresses our firm and unequivocal condemnation of any type of violence, abuse, or sexual assault”.
“Such conduct has no place in our society or in the values promoted by sport,” the club’s statement added.
Jara received a two-year sentence for sexual assault against a second victim and a further six months for an offence against moral integrity, as well as ordering him to pay a 6,280 euro (£5,400) fine.