Spanish soccer player Santi Mina was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison after being found guilty of sexual abuse.
The 26-year-old Celta de Vigo striker will have to go to prison if his appeal is unsuccessful.
The Spanish court also imposed a ban on Mina from coming closer than 500 meters or having any kind of contact with the victim for the next 12 years. In addition, she will have to pay compensation of 50,000 euros ($52,600) for moral damages.
Mina was acquitted of the charge of sexual assault, associated with the use of violence against the victim.
Celta said they had preventively removed the player from the squad until the appeal process was completed. He also opened a disciplinary file to determine what options the club could take.
The prosecution requested eight years in prison for Mina, while the victim’s lawyers requested 9 and a half years.
David Goldar, who played for Ibiza, a lower-tier club, was found not guilty on the charge of complicity. The prosecution attorney was asking for four and a half years for him.
Mina and Goldar said the woman had agreed to have sex.
She accused Mina of raping her in a caravan in 2017, which she had gone to with Goldar. The victim’s attorney said Goldar did nothing to stop Mina from raping her.
Mina was playing for Valencia at the time. In 2019 he returned to Vigo, to his childhood club.
The ruling of the Spanish court could be appealed to the Spanish Supreme Court.