The Supreme Court of Italy confirms the 9-year sentence of Brazilian striker Robinho, accused of rape

(CNN Brazil) — The striker Robinho, 37, and his friend Ricardo Falco were finally sentenced by the Italian court for sexual violence on Wednesday, January 19.

The Rome Court of Cassation denied the defendants’ appeal and upheld the first-instance sentences to 9 years in prison.

Robinho –former player of AC Milan, Manchester City and Real Madrid–, and four other Brazilians are accused of participating in the rape, now confirmed in all instances of the Italian Judiciary, of a young woman of Albanian origin in a nightclub of the city of Milan, in 2013.

The conviction was confirmed to CNN Brazil by the player’s sports agent, Marisa Alija, and the victim’s lawyer, Jacopo Gnocchi.

The prosecution used recorded audio from a microphone installed in a car, which captured a conversation between Robinho and his friends, confirming the victim’s version of the gang rape.

Even with the conviction, Robinho, who is in Brazil, cannot be extradited, since the law does not allow the extradition of Brazilians.

Italian justice can resort to the International Police (Interpol) to arrest the player if he travels abroad.

At the time, Robinho’s defense stated that “in this, as in many cases of this type, the real danger is to confuse the law with morality” and assured that the relationship between the accused and the victim was consensual.

Report by Leonardo Lopes, Raphael Coraccini, Julyanne Jucá of CNN Brazil, with information by Diego Bertozzi.