Spain’s Supreme Court has confirmed a four-year prison sentence for former professional footballer Santi Mina following a 2017 sexual assault conviction. The court rejected all appeals from both the defense and the civil prosecution, closing the ordinary legal avenues in a case that previously led to his dismissal by Celta Vigo.
The nation’s highest court finalized the ruling against Santi Mina, upholding a prison term first issued by a provincial court and subsequently reviewed by higher regional authorities. Legal challenges brought by both sides failed to shift the outcome, with the court dismissing the defendant’s requests for an acquittal as well as the victim’s push for a stiffer eight-year term under a different legal classification.
Supreme Court Rejects Defense Appeal and Affirms Four-Year Term
The criminal chamber of the Supreme Court reviewed the case following appeals from the former player’s legal team, which argued that the accused acted under a mistake regarding consent. Magistrates dismissed that defense outright, stating that the established facts showed no indication of a misunderstood signal.
The court detailed the specifics of the incident, noting that Mina halted his actions only when he realized that continuing would require overcoming physical resistance. The court maintained the classification of the offense as sexual abuse rather than sexual assault involving penetration, refusing the prosecution’s request for a harsher sentence.
The Supreme Court stated that the accused took advantage of proximity, surprise, and the victim’s situation to commit two non-consensual sexual acts, interrupting his actions when he estimated that continuing those acts would require overcoming resistance by force, according to Sofoot and Foot Mercato.
Legal Timeline and Dismissal of Accomplice Charges
The legal proceedings stem from events that occurred in July 2017 inside a parked vehicle near a nightclub in Mojácar, located in the province of Almería, where the player was traveling with acquaintances. A formal complaint was filed in September 2021, leading to a trial that resulted in a May 2022 conviction by the court in Almería. That verdict was subsequently upheld by the High Court of Justice of Andalusia.
Alongside the primary conviction, the Supreme Court addressed appeals concerning a second individual. Magistrates declined to convict David Goldar, an acquaintance of Mina, leaving him fully acquitted due to insufficient evidence linking him as an accomplice. The court also adjusted the financial penalty, setting moral damages at 25,000 euros—down from an initial 50,000-euro assessment ordered by the Almería tribunal, but matching the figure confirmed by the Andalusian regional high court.
Career Impact and Celta Vigo Club Decision
The legal fallout effectively derailed the trajectory of a player once regarded as a promising talent in Spanish football. Formed at Celta Vigo, Mina also spent four seasons playing for Valencia between 2015 and 2019 before returning to Celta.
Upon his return in August 2023, Celta Vigo took decisive action to terminate his contract unilaterally with two years remaining on the agreement. With the Supreme Court’s rejection of his final ordinary appeal, media reports indicate the former Spain youth international faces imminent incarceration.
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