MADRID (AP) — A court in Spain has sentenced Spanish forward Rafa Mir to eight and-a-half years of prison for having sexually assaulted two women along with another soccer player.

A lower court in the region of Valencia ruled Monday that Mir and the other player had sexually assaulted the two women in 2024 in Mir’s home in the city of Valencia, where at that time he was playing for the eponymous soccer club.

The court handed Mir seven years for sexual assault and another 18 months for causing physical harm.

Mir, 28, played for Elche in La Liga last season on loan from Sevilla. His contract with Elche is set to expire at the end of this month.

The second player, identified as Pablo J. G. in court documents, is a lower division player in Spain. The court sentenced him to two-and-a-half years of prison for sexual assault and causing physical harm.

Mir denied wrongdoing, saying that the two women consented to having sexual relations with him.

The verdict can be appealed.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer