Asencio Cleared in Video Case as Real Madrid Faces New Disciplinary Probe
A Spanish court has acquitted Real Madrid defender Asencio of all criminal charges relating to the non-consensual distribution of a sexually explicit video, drawing a line under a case that has shadowed him since last summer. His problems, though, are far from over.
Court case closed in Canary Islands
On Thursday in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, judges confirmed Asencio had been fully cleared after prosecutors formally withdrew all accusations against him. The case revolved around a recorded sexual encounter at a Canary Islands beach club in June 2023, involving a woman and a 16-year-old girl.
Asencio was never accused of filming the encounter. The allegation was that he had shared the footage. That accusation has now been dropped.
Three of his former Real Madrid youth teammates – Andrés García, Ferrán Ruiz and Juan Rodríguez – took a different route. They pleaded guilty and 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 in court when the two young women featured in the video addressed the judge. They confirmed they had forgiven the players. That opened the door for a negotiated outcome.
A statement from the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria court set out how the case ended: after hearing the victims’ forgiveness, and the Public Prosecutor’s decision to withdraw the charges against one player and reduce the requested sentences for the other three, the judge issued a consent verdict in line with the prosecutor’s report.
The court underlined that the ruling is final. All parties accepted the decision and waived their right to appeal. Legally, the matter is closed.
DUI conviction triggers club action
Just as one legal battle ended, another issue flared up for Asencio.
On Wednesday, in a separate case, the defender was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. The sentence was clear and concrete: an eight-month suspension of his driving licence and a €14,400 fine.
Real Madrid moved quickly. The club has opened internal disciplinary proceedings, adding institutional scrutiny to the defender’s personal setback.
Head coach José Mourinho addressed the situation on Thursday, making it plain that, for now, Asencio’s status at the club remains unchanged on paper.
“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.
It was a pointed remark. The injury buys time. It does not remove the decision that awaits.
Injured, sidelined, and under pressure
Asencio has yet to play this season due to a muscle injury and will remain out for the immediate future. His absence is physical, but the challenge ahead is reputational.
Since stepping up to the first team at the start of the 2024–2025 campaign, he has made 80 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice and lifting the FIFA Intercontinental Cup with Real Madrid. A solid, if unspectacular, body of work for a defender still shaping his identity at the elite level.
Now, the equation changes. The court has cleared his name in the video case, yet the club’s disciplinary machine is grinding into motion over his DUI conviction. When he does finally return to full fitness, Asencio will not only be fighting for minutes.
He will be fighting for trust – from Mourinho, from the dressing room, and from a club that demands as much off the pitch as it does under the Bernabéu lights.
