Former Manchester City, AC Milan and Real Madrid forward Robinho has been ordered to spend his nine-year rape conviction in Brazilian prison, after the Brazilian Supreme Court approved a request made by the Italian authorities, pending appeal.
The supreme court voted nine to two in favour of Robinho completing the sentence in Brazil. The 40-year-old Brazilian had been avoiding justice in Italy, after he had been convicted of rape for an incident in 2013, as Brazil has no extradition policy for nationals.
Robinho for his part maintains his innocence, stating that it was a consensual relation, but Italian police presented audio evidence denying that version of events. The incident occurred during his time at AC Milan. He can appeal the decision, but will have to enter prison first, and the magistrate pointed out that it was not their job to revise the verdict, merely assess whether it met the requirements for the sentence to be transferred, as reported by Sport.
This decision arrived the same day as former international teammate Dani Alves was set a €1m bail package in order to gain release from prison, as he awaits his appeal against a rape conviction.
