Real Madrid Star Faces Criminal Trial

Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio is set to stand trial in September over allegations involving the sharing of intimate footage featuring a minor. The 23-year-old player, who has made 80 appearances for the club, will face the court alongside three of his former Madrid youth-team teammates.

The trial is scheduled to take place in Gran Canaria on September 3, 4, and 7, 2026. Asencio is facing two charges: allegedly distributing intimate video content without consent, and allegedly sharing a sex tape involving a minor.

Charges and Co-Defendants

Asencio will stand trial alongside three former teammates: Ferran Ruiz, Juan Rodriguez, and Andres Garcia. All four men are facing charges related to allegedly recording and distributing videos of sexual content involving a minor and one other woman.

According to court documents, the case centers on the filming, allegedly without consent, of a sexual encounter in the private area of a beach club in the Canary Islands in June 2023, as well as the alleged distribution of the video without consent.

Judge Dismisses Defense Arguments

On Thursday, the case judge dismissed all arguments put forward by defense lawyers for all four men in a preliminary hearing. The defense had argued for evidence to be struck from the record, including evidence obtained from the seizure of the defendants' phones by Spanish police.

In court documents seen by The Athletic, the judge declared that such seizures "do not require the consent of the owners" of the phones. The judge added: "All the defendants made backups to their cloud account to delete contents before their arrests, in a clear attempt to thwart the investigation of the reported events."

Asencio's Involvement

Asencio is not accused of having been involved in the filming incident itself, but it was alleged that he asked for the videos and showed them to another friend, which would constitute two crimes against privacy per Article 77 of the Spanish Criminal Code.

The defender is charged with disclosure and transfer to third parties of images captured without consent under Article 197.1.3 paragraphs 2 and 5 of the Criminal Code.

Victims Withdraw Complaints

Each of the alleged victims has now withdrawn their allegations against Asencio. However, the judge has ruled that each victim must repeat this stance in court for it to be considered valid. Both alleged victims have accused the other three defendants: Ruiz, Rodriguez, and Garcia.

Asencio has always maintained his innocence. In May 2025, he released a statement saying: "I have not participated in any behaviour that violated the sexual freedom of any woman, much less of minors."

Prosecutor's Sentence Request

In August last year, the Prosecutor's Office called for a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Asencio, along with prison sentences for each of the three other men. A case summary provided by prosecutors also claimed that the alleged victims were both suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the events.

Background of the Case

A complaint was filed by the younger of the two girls, accompanied by her mother, at Guardia Civil offices in the town of Santa Maria de Guia, close to Las Palmas in the north of Gran Canaria, on September 6, 2023. Subsequently, the second alleged victim also filed a complaint.

According to their testimony leaked in Spanish media, the girls asked the players involved to delete the footage the same day they found out they had been recorded. One of the girls, speaking anonymously in an interview with Spanish newspaper Diario AS in September 2023, said the players told them they would delete the footage but had instead "transferred it to other mobiles."

According to their testimony, the girls did not find out until August 2023 that the footage still existed and was allegedly being shared. They discovered the footage had not been deleted when an acquaintance told them he had seen the video.

Career Background

Asencio, born in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, has played 80 times for Real Madrid. He has previously been called up to Spain's national team but has yet to make an appearance.

The case has raised significant attention in Spain given the profile of the players involved and the serious nature of the allegations. The trial is expected to last three days in Gran Canaria.