Former Wolves and Nottingham Forest striker Rafa Mir has been charged with sexual assault and assault by penetration involving the use of violence.
An investigating judge ruled there was enough evidence to put him on the stand following a long-running judicial probe sparked by his arrest in September last year.
The 28-year-old, currently playing for LaLiga club Elche on loan from Sevilla, and another Spanish footballer called Pablo Jara were held after two women they had met hours earlier in a nightclub in the east coast city of Valencia alleged they had been sexually assaulted at Mir’s home on September 1.
Court officials said today: ‘The presiding judge of Court Number Eight of the Civil and Preliminary Investigation Section of the Court of First Instance of Lliria has indicted footballers Rafa M.V. and Pablo J.G. for separate offences of sexual assault, in the first case for an assault by penetration involving the use of violence.
‘The investigating judge understands that the proceedings carried out during the investigation of the case reveal evidence, and not mere suspicions, that Rafa M.V. sexually assaulted on two occasions one of the two women whom he, Pablo J.G. and another friend had previously met at a nightclub in Valencia.
‘The events took place in the early hours of 1 September 2024 at the home of the now Elche FC player, in a residential area in the Valencian town of Betera, specifically in the swimming pool and in a bathroom.
Rafa Mir, pictured during his time at Wolves in 2018, has been charged with sexual assault
‘The judge also found evidence of sexual assault without carnal access and minor bodily harm by the other defendant, Pablo J.G., against a second girl, also in the swimming pool at Rafa M.V.’s house.
‘The judge has required Rafa M.V. to post bail of £10,850 and Pablo J.G. to post bail of £4,338 in order to ensure their respective civil liabilities in the event that they are convicted.’
Both men have also been summoned to make formal statements, although at the request of his lawyer Rafa Mir will do so by video conference.
Mir, full name Rafael Mir Vicente, won the 2019 European Championship with the Spain national under-21 football team 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 No 9 shirt, linking up with former Valencia boss Nuno Espírito Santo.
Mir only played twice for Wolves and did not register a goal for the club in a dreadful spell, leading to the player being branded a flop by many fans.
He had loan spells at Las Palmas and Nottingham Forest (where he also failed to score a single goal) 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 last July before switching to Elche.’
Mir’s female accuser was aged 21 at the time of his arrest and the other woman 25.
Mir went on loan from Wolves to Nottingham Forest, above in 2019, before moving to Spain
The footballer, who has protested his innocence, has been the target of regular abuse by away supporters since his detention and release on bail last year following two days behind bars.
During Elche’s away match against Alaves at the weekend the home team’s supporters shouted: ‘Rafa Mir, rapist’ when he was substituted in the second half.
The referee responded by alerting the police and halting play for several minutes in line with protocol.
In a statement released after his arrest, Rafa Mir said insisting he was innocent of any wrongdoing: ‘I have full confidence in this country’s judicial system with which I have co-operated from the outset to clarify what happened.’
He went to apologise to his teammates and club, which handed him a record fine, for partying into the early hours of the morning.
Public prosecutors have not yet been invited by the judge to submit their written indictment in which they would outline the prison sentence they would seek at trial if Mir is convicted as charged.
