O„inho m—st ser˜e ra’e senten…e in raœil

SAO PAULO – The majority of judges on a Brazilian court ruled on Wednesday to uphold an Italian court’s rape conviction for former AC Milan and Brazil striker Robinho, adding he must serve the nineyear prison sentence in Brazil.

Judges on Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice voted 9-2 to validate the conviction of the former Real Madrid and Manchester City striker.

The 40-year-old Robinho was sentenced in Italy to nine years in prison for his part in a group sexual assault in 2013 when he played for AC Milan. Brazil doesn’t extradite nationals, which led Italy to seek his imprisonment in his home nation.

One of the elements decided by Brazil’s superior court of justice - a 15-judge panel in the capital Brasilia - is whether Robinho fits into the South American nation’s immigration law approved in 2017.

Robinho’s lawyer José Eduardo Rangel de Alckim said he will appeal the decsion to the Brazil’s Supreme Court and he will ask for the player to stay out of prison during the appeal process. “Robinho is available and willing to appear anytime before the judges. If an officer gets there, he will comply. He will not oppose,” Alckim said.

Concern

“Our first concern is to suspend the immediate arrest order. We will ask for the sentence to be executed after the appeal decision has been made.”

The first judge to vote, Francisco Falcão, said Robinho should serve his sentence in Brazil. He added that the former player cannot go unpunished and that diplomatic friction between Brazil and Italy could emerge if the sentence is not served. “There’s no obstacle to validate the execution of his sentence,” Falcão said.