MADRID, June 15 (Reuters) - Spanish footballer Rafa ⁠Mir has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty ⁠of committing sexual assault and assault causing injury, a court in the eastern Valencia ‌region ruled on Monday.

Women's rights have become a highly sensitive national topic in Spain, especially in the sports world after scandals including former soccer chief Luis Rubiales' unwanted kissing of a national team player or ex-Barcelona star Dani ​Alves' rape conviction, which was later overturned.

Mir was arrested in ⁠September 2024 after a woman filed a ⁠sexual assault complaint. His lawyer said at the time that the intercourse was consensual and ⁠that ‌Mir categorically denied the accusations.

According to the ruling, Mir and another soccer player met two young women at a nightclub in Valencia and later went to Mir's home to ⁠continue the party. At the house, Mir sexually assaulted one ​of the women in the ‌pool and a bathroom, the court said.

The court highlighted the victim's consistent and credible ⁠testimony, supported by ​witness accounts and forensic reports.

The victim was awarded compensation of €64,000 ($74,300). The decision is not final and can be appealed, the court added.

Mir, who currently plays for LaLiga club Elche, on loan from Sevilla, was under ⁠contract at six-time league champions Valencia at the time ​of the incident in 2024.

Sevilla, in a statement, said it respected the jury's decision, adding there was no place for violence or abuse in society.

"The club, in light of the judgment issued by ⁠Section Four of the Provincial Court of Valencia in which footballer Rafa Mir - currently on loan at Elche CF until June 30 - is sentenced to eight and a half years, states its utmost respect for judicial proceedings and expresses our firm and unequivocal condemnation of any type of ​violence, abuse, or sexual assault," Sevilla said.

"Such conduct has no place ⁠in our society or in the values promoted by sport."

The 28-year-old striker has also played for ​Wolverhampton Wanderers, as well as Spain's national men's team in ‌the Tokyo Olympics.

Elche did not immediately respond to ​a request for comment.

($1 = 0.8610 euros)

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Additional reporting by Javier West Larrañaga and Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by David Latona and Toby Chopra)