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Celta Vigo and Spain U-21 forward Santi Mina has been criminated by a Spanish court for sexually abusing a woman. UD Ibiza defender David Goldar has been exempted from being an accomplice. The incident occurred on June 18, 2017 in Mojácar, Almería where he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a camper van, where she had gone with Goldar.
The woman's lawyer said Goldar did nothing to stop the Vigo forward from raping her. But Mina and Goldar conveyed the woman consented to their sexual relations. Mina will now appeal against the verdict at Spain's Supreme Court as the ruling was made in a lower court. The state prosecutor had demanded eight years in prison, while the woman’s lawyers asked for nine-and-a-half years.
Santi Mina was born in Vigo and started his pro career at the Los Celestes in the fourth tier of the Spanish League with the reserves in the 2012-13 season. He then made his first-team debut against Getafe in 2013. Two years late he moved to Valencia on a six-year deal where he made 150 appearances and scored 42 goals. He rejoined Celta in 2019 and has so far played 146 times. He has also played for the Spain Under-21 side on four occasions where he scored twice.
Celta Vigo has terminated Santi Mina from the first-team squad and has also issued a statement addressing the issue. The statement said, “As a result of the ruling of the Provincial Court of Almeria ruling issued today, RC Celta has decided to open a disciplinary file on the player Santiago Mina to elucidate his work responsibilities in view of this resolution.”
“For this reason and as a precautionary measure, it has been decided to provisionally remove the player from first-team training, without prejudice to his continuing to carry out the activities indicated by the club for this purpose”, it further read.
“RC Celta respects the player's right to defence but is obliged to take measures against those events that notoriously undermine the image of the club and directly attack its values, once again showing its most absolute rejection of the offence defined in the judicial resolution”, it concluded.