Rape convict Robinho arrested in Brazil

SANTOS, Brazil, Mar 22 (AFP): Former Manchester City and Real Madrid footballer Robinho was arrested Thursday in Brazil, after losing a last-minute court bid to delay serving his nine-year sentence for raping a woman a decade ago.

Supreme Court Judge Luiz Fux rejected Robinho's request for a stay and ruled "the detention order is maintained... so that he can begin serving his sentence."

Federal Police in the southeastern city of Santos said in a statement to AFP on Thursday night that their forces "carried out an arrest warrant... against Robson de Souza."

"The prisoner will undergo an examination at the (Medical Legal Institute), a custody hearing and will be sent to the penitentiary system."

Popularly known as "Robinho," the footballer was found guilty by an Italian court in 2017 of taking part in the gang rape of an Albanian woman celebrating her 23rd birthday at a Milan nightclub four years earlier.

The former Brazil international, now 40, lost an appeal in 2020 and had his sentence upheld by Italy's highest court in 2022, after which Italian prosecutors issued an international arrest warrant for him.

Brazil does not extradite its nationals, however, and Italy asked that Robinho be made to serve his sentence in his home country instead.