Celta de Vigo player Santi Mina was sentenced on Wednesday to four years in prison and a fine of 50,000 euros for sexual abuse. The athlete was also removed from training.
The Almería court sentenced Santi Mina to four years in prison on Wednesday. The 26-year-old Celta de Vigo forward was on trial for sexually abusing a woman, which allegedly took place in 2017. In June of that year, Santi Mina, who then played for Valencia, was on vacation with his friend and also player David Goldar – who was also accused but was eventually acquitted and cleared of criminal responsibility – when he allegedly abused a woman.
The Almería court judge also sentenced Mina to pay a fine of 50,000 euros and the player will not be able to be within 500 meters of the victim for the next 12 years. Still, the attacker was cleared of the rape charges, despite being given an eight to nine-year jail term.
If in a first phase Celta de Vigo repudiated the charges and guaranteed that the player had the right to defence, once the conviction was known, the club decided to remove the player from the main team. In a press release, the Spanish team said it had opened disciplinary proceedings in the face of a case “which pinches the image of the club”.
“In light of the decision of the Almería court, Celta has decided to open disciplinary proceedings against the player Santiago Mina to clarify his professional responsibilities. For this reason and as a precautionary measure, it has been decided to temporarily withdraw player of the first team training without prejudice to continue carrying out the activities indicated by the club for this purpose.Celta respects the right of defense of the player, but is forced to take measures in the face of episodes that put jeopardize the image of the club and directly attack its values, showing an increasingly total repudiation of the crime indicated in the judicial resolution ”, can we read.
Santi Mina, a native of Vigo, was trained at Celta and transferred to Valencia in 2015, a club where he spent four years before returning to Balaidos in 2019.