A Spanish court has sentenced Rafa Mir, a striker who played for Valencia and most recently Elche in La Liga (Spain's top football division), to eight and a half years in prison for sexually assaulting two women following a night out in Valencia in 2024. The sentence comprises seven years for the assault and an additional eighteen months for causing physical injury; a second footballer, Pablo Jara, received a two-and-a-half-year sentence in connection with the same case. Mir, 28, denied wrongdoing and claimed the encounters were consensual, but the court found the victims' testimony consistent and credible; he is also required to pay compensation and may appeal the ruling.