Spain’s state prosecutors will appeal against the four-and-a-half year sentence handed to Dani Alves and seek a longer prison term, judicial sources told Efe.

A Spanish court on Feb. 22 found the former Brazil international guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.

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The court also ordered Alves to pay €150,000 ($162,990) to the victim.

The prosecutors’ office had requested a nine-year prison sentence for Alves while the victim had sought 12 years.

The court gave Alves the minimum sentence for sexual assault as it considered as a mitigating factor that Alves opted to pay the victim the €150,000 compensation regardless of the outcome of the trial.

However, the prosecutors’ office believe it is “discriminatory” as defendants with money are able to pay for a lighter sentence, hence it will be one of the main elements it will challenge in its appeal.

It is believed the victim also intends to appeal against the sentence.

Alves, 40, has maintained the sex was consensual.

His lawyer, Inés Guardiola, said after the court verdict that her client intends to appeal the sentence, which also includes a five-year probation upon release and a 9½-year restraining order.

The former Barcelona defender has been held in custody without bail in a Barcelona prison since January 2022.