Former Premier League striker bailed after appearing in court as further details emerge of ‘sexual assault’ allegations
FORMER Wolves striker Rafa Mir has been bailed after telling a judge he did “nothing wrong” following his arrest over an alleged sex assault.
The 27-year-old, currently on loan at LaLiga team Valencia from top-flight rivals Sevilla, will continue to be probed as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
The conditions attached to his provisional release have not yet been made public, but are thought to include the obligation to sign on periodically at court.
A second man held, a footballer friend named locally as Pablo Jara who plays for fifth-tier Spanish side Alcantarilla FC, has also been bailed.
Both men appeared before a judge at a court in the town of Lliria near the east coast city of Valencia in a behind-closed-doors hearing today.
Mir, who spent two nights in police custody following his arrest at his nearby home in Betera, is being investigated over an alleged double sex assault on a 21-year-old woman.
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She and a 25-year-old female friend had agreed to go back to his place after they met at a Valencia nightclub on Sunday night.
Police were called to the property around 9am on Monday morning after reports of shouting and are said to have found the two women “semi-naked and very agitated” and arguing with Mir and his pal.
The female pair subsequently filed a formal complaint at a nearby police station, with the younger woman claiming she had been sexually assaulted by Mir and the older one reportedly alleging she had been physically attacked by his friend during a subsequent row.
The women ratified their police statements in front of the judge today.
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Mir’s lawyer Jaime Campaner, who earlier this year successfully defended George Best’s son Calum in a separate sex assault case, says his client is denying any wrongdoing and insisting sex was "consensual";.
Neither man has yet been charged with any crime.
Formal charges are normally only laid in Spain shortly before trial following a lengthy judicial probe by an investigating judge.
Mir, full name Rafael Mir Vicente, won the 2019 European Championship with Spain's U21s and a silver medal with the Olympic team at the 2020 tournament.
He joined Wolves on a four-and-a-half year contract in January 2018 and took the No9 shirt, linking up with former Valencia boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
He had loan spells at Las Palmas and Nottingham Forest while with Wolves, and left the club for good in August 2021 when he signed a six-year contract with Sevilla.
He returned to boyhood club Valencia on loan in July.
Valencia Football Club said in a statement yesterday afternoon: “In relation to the press reports regarding the arrest of Valencia CF player Rafa Mir, the club is aware of the arrest and, in the absence of any more details about it, can only state for the time being that it will cooperate fully with whatever the courts may require.”
Club sources have been quoted as saying they are going to see how the ongoing investigation against Rafa Mir develops before taking a decision about his future.