Asencio Acquitted in Explicit Video Case but Faces New Challenges at Real Madrid

Real Madrid defender Asencio has been fully acquitted by a Spanish court of charges relating to the non-consensual distribution of a sexually explicit video involving a woman and a 16-year-old girl.

On Thursday in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the judge brought the high-profile case to a close after prosecutors formally withdrew all accusations against him. The proceedings stemmed from a recorded sexual encounter at a Canary Islands beach club in June 2023, a case that had hung over the player and several of his former Real Madrid youth teammates for more than a year.

Asencio was never accused of filming the incident. The allegation focused on whether he had shared the footage. In the end, the Public Prosecutor’s Office stepped back, and the court cleared him.

His former Castilla colleagues did not walk away so cleanly. Andrés García, Ferrán Ruiz and Juan Rodríguez all pleaded guilty. Each accepted a one-year suspended prison sentence, a two-year restraining order, and a three-year ban on working with minors.

The turning point came when the two young women involved addressed the court and confirmed they had forgiven the players. The court’s statement laid out the final act: “After hearing the victims confirm that they forgave the defendants and the report from the representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office withdrawing the charges against one of them and reducing the sentence sought for the other three, the judge handed down a verdict by consent in accordance with the prosecutor's report.”

The message from the bench was unequivocal. “The ruling is final and definitively concludes the proceedings, as the parties have confirmed that they accept it and will not appeal.”

Legal Cloud Lifts, New Storm Arrives

Just as one legal battle ends for Asencio, another problem has erupted away from the pitch.

On Wednesday, the defender was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. The sentence: an eight-month driving licence suspension and a €14,400 fine. No ambiguity, no suspended terms on that front.

Real Madrid have responded by opening internal disciplinary proceedings. The club, already under scrutiny for how it handles off-field controversies, now has to decide how far to go with a homegrown defender who has just been cleared in one case but condemned in another.

Head coach José Mourinho addressed the issue on Thursday, making it clear that, for now, footballing considerations sit alongside the legal and disciplinary noise.

“While the proceeding is open I see him as a Real Madrid player. He's injured and will continue to be sidelined for a couple of weeks. That helps me not to have to deal with this problem now,” Mourinho said.

Injured, Under Scrutiny, and Waiting

On the pitch, Asencio’s season has not even started. A muscle injury has kept him out of action and will continue to do so in the immediate future. For a player who broke into the first team at the start of the 2024–2025 campaign and has since made 80 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals and lifting the FIFA Intercontinental Cup with Real Madrid, the halt is abrupt.

He now faces a double recovery: physical and reputational.

When he returns to full fitness, the battle will not simply be for a place in Mourinho’s back line. It will be for trust inside Valdebebas, in a dressing room and a club hierarchy that must decide how they view a defender cleared in one courtroom, sanctioned in another, and still trying to prove he belongs at the heart of Real Madrid’s future.