A Spanish court has rejected an appeal by Real Madrid defender Raúl Asencio to end the investigation into his alleged role in distributing a sexually explicit video of a minor.

Asencio -- who has made 21 appearances for Madrid's first team since making his debut in November -- is alleged to have shared a video recorded by two former Madrid youth players of a sexual encounter with one woman and one minor, in June 2023, while a third former player was also present.

Lawyers for Asencio, 21, had filed an appeal against a ruling by a court in Gran Canaria, which had found that the investigation into whether he distributed the video should continue.

On Tuesday, the press office of the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands said in a statement that the court had confirmed the decision to continue with the inquiry, rejecting the motion of dismissal requested by Asencio's defense team.

The four players were first arrested in September 2023, and their mobile phones seized by police, with Madrid confirming that they had given evidence over "the sharing of a private video via WhatsApp."

Police said a complaint had been filed by the mother of a 16-year-old girl in the Canary Islands regarding an alleged recording of sexual relations. She did not to consent to being recorded.

Asencio has featured regularly for Madrid's first team this season after the team suffered a series of injuries to their senior defenders and is in the squad for Tuesday's Champions League knockout phase playoff first leg with Manchester City.