FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said on Saturday that he was "
in a state of shock
" after the announcement of the provisional detention of Brazilian footballer Dani Alves, accused by a woman of rape.
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"
I think, like everyone else, I'm surprised, taken aback, I'm in shock, because I know Dani
," Xavi said in a press conference on Saturday, on the eve of his side's league game against Getafe. .
The 39-year-old defender, who returned to Barça last season after already playing there from 2008 to 2016, was remanded to Barcelona on Friday for "
sexual assault
", a charge which includes rape in the Spanish criminal code.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the young woman accused the Brazilian international of rape, an accusation reiterated on Friday before the magistrate who decided to place Alves in pre-trial detention.
Xavi and Dani Alves in 2012 with FC Barcelona.
Panoramic
“
That's the first thing that comes to mind.
This is a matter of justice, and justice will take its course, nothing more can be said
,” Xavi continued.
"
About Dani, I feel bad for him, I'm surprised, given who Dani is, and how he behaved when he was with us
," said Xavi, who was the Brazilian's team-mate.
Ex-player of FC Barcelona, Juventus and Paris SG, Dani Alves, who participated with Brazil in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, was dismissed by his Mexican club Pumas at the announcement of his detention.
Catalan police said they received the complaint against Alves on January 2.
The facts would have taken place in the toilets of a fashionable nightclub in Barcelona on the night of December 30 to 31, according to Spanish media.
