He won titles in Madrid and Milan, now he is to go to prison: Italy‘s highest court has confirmed the sentence for former striker Robinho for a gang rape in 2013 – but there is a problem.
The Court of Cassation in Italy has dismissed the appeal of Brazilian footballer Robinho in the gang rape trial. “The appeal is inadmissible,” said a spokesman for Italy’s highest court on Wednesday evening in Rome. The judges thus confirmed the judgments of the lower courts. Whether the 37-year-old will serve his sentence remained open.
For this, the Italian judiciary would have to apply for extradition from the Brazilian authorities. Robinho was first sentenced to nine years in prison in Milan in 2017. The ex-AC Milan striker and five other men raped a woman in a disco in the northern Italian metropolis in 2013, the court ruled at the time. During the rape, they are said to have made the then 23-year-old drunk and defenseless.
The player’s defense attorney announced at the time that he would appeal the first-degree verdict. Under pressure from sponsors and fans, the contract between FC Santos and Robinho was suspended after just about a week in October 2020 and then dissolved. The Brazilian sports portal Globe Sports had published the content of audio recordings with spicy details and explicit statements that the Italian judiciary is said to have used for the verdict against Robinho.
In a letter from the lawyers, from which Globe Sports quoted, Robinho again rejected the allegations. He had always entered into sexual relationships consensually. However, Robinho, who lives in Brazil, could still get away: he may not be extradited at all; the country’s constitution effectively prohibits the extradition of Brazilians.
If he stays in his home country, it is almost impossible for Robinho to be arrested to serve out his sentence. Unless he travels abroad and Italy issues an international arrest warrant.
