sentenced in Italy to nine years in prison for rape, Robinho was arrested and will be imprisoned in Brazil

The former Brazilian international saw his latest request for a stay rejected on Thursday by the Supreme Court.

Ex-footballer Robinho, whose request for a reprieve was rejected Thursday by a judge of the Brazilian Supreme Court, was arrested in Santos (South-East) on Thursday March 21, to be imprisoned and serve a nine-year sentence in Brazil years in prison for rape, handed down in Italy in 2017.”I reject the request for precautionary measures and the detention order is maintained (…) so that he can begin serving his sentence.”, indicated Thursday evening Judge Luiz Fux in his decision. Robinho played his last card with this request for a reprieve until all possible appeals were exhausted.

Shortly after, the federal police of Santos, where the former Brazilian international resides, indicated in a press release sent to AFP that they had “issued an arrest warrant (…) against Robson de Souza”, his real name. “The prisoner will be examined at the IML (Forensic Institute) before custody and will be sent to the prison system”it is specified.

Robinho claims his innocence and invokes “racism”

The former striker with 100 caps with the five-time world champions was found guilty of gang rape of a young Albanian woman who was celebrating her 23rd birthday in a Milanese nightclub. The facts date back to 2013, when he played for AC Milan. The sentence was upheld by the Italian Court of Cassation in January 2022.

The former footballer, 40, has always proclaimed his innocence, as he did once again on Sunday, attributing his conviction to “racism”. “It was consensual. I never denied (having relations with the victim). I could have denied it because my DNA was not found, but I am not a liar”, he said during an interview with the Brazilian channel TV Record. According to the indictment, Robinho and five other Brazilians made their victim drink “to the point of leaving her unconscious and unable to defend herself” and then had “sex several times in a row” with her.

As the player had returned to Brazil at the time of the trial in Italy in 2017 and the Brazilian Constitution does not allow the extradition of its nationals, Italian justice demanded that Robinho serve his sentence in his native country. A request that the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) accepted on Wednesday.

A decision with immediate effect

The decision of the STJ is “with immediate effect” and its president Maria Thereza de Assis Moura signed on Thursday afternoon the document recording the decision of this high court, allowing a judge in Santos to issue a warrant of committal. Before the last resort attempted by Robinho’s defense demanding a reprieve, in vain.

This legal drama is particularly commented on in Brazil, while another rape case involves another Brazilian star, Daniel Alves. The former FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain full-back, imprisoned in Spain, was sentenced at the end of February to four and a half years in prison for the rape of a young woman in December 2022 in a nightclub in Barcelona, ​​a sentence much lower than the requisitions of the prosecution which demanded nine years in prison.

On Thursday, Leila Pereira, president of the Brazilian club Palmeiras, criticized the silence of football governing bodies regarding these two rape cases involving football stars in Brazil. “No one says anything (…) It’s like a slap in the face to all of us”lamented, during an interview with the UOL information site, the one who is one of the rare women at the head of a first division club throughout the world.

The President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, estimated that Robinho should “pay the price for his irresponsibility“for a crime “unforgivable”. Then asserted that “the money that Daniel Alves has” who can be released on probation against the provision of a large deposit, “cannot atone for a man’s offense against a woman he has raped”.