Spanish Court Clears Raul Asencio as Three Former Teammates Are Sentenced

Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio has been acquitted of alleged involvement in distributing a sexually explicit video involving a minor, BBC Sport reported. A Spanish court cleared the 23-year-old and withdrew the charges against him in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

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The case concerned the recording and circulation of a video connected to an intimate encounter at a beach club in Gran Canaria in June 2023. The two victims were aged 16 and 18, according to the BBC's account of the court outcome.

Three of Asencio's former teammates from Real Madrid's academy were convicted in the same case. Each received a one-year suspended prison sentence for child pornography and was ordered to attend a sexual re-education course. The court also imposed two-year restraining orders protecting the victims and barred the three defendants for three years from work involving minors.

BBC Sport reported that the court applied minimum sentences after the victims forgave the convicted defendants. Asencio, who progressed through Real Madrid's academy to the first team, issued a statement after the ruling in which he said he had maintained confidence in the judicial process and was relieved to bring the episode to a close. He also referred to the personal impact of public reporting before the court reached its decision.

The acquittal is separate from a drink-driving case that has led Real Madrid to open disciplinary proceedings against Asencio. The BBC reported that he was more than three times over the legal limit during an August 16 incident in Gran Canaria. He was fined and had his driving licence suspended for eight months.

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho said he had spoken with Asencio about earlier events after the player arrived and praised the defender's conduct while recovering from injury. Mourinho nevertheless said off-field behavior by a Real Madrid player affects the club and made clear that he was unhappy about the driving offense. Asencio apologized for that incident in his statement, accepted responsibility and said he had learned from it. The outcomes remain distinct: he was acquitted in the explicit-video case but convicted of drink-driving.