Ex-Real Madrid & Brazil player Robinho's appeal to overturn nine-year prison sentence for rape rejected after majority vote

The 41-year-old was convicted in 2017 for the role that he played in the gang rape of an Albanian women celebrating her 23rd birthday at a Milan nightclub in 2013, with that sentence upheld by the Italian Court of Cassation in January 2022. Robinho was playing for AC Milan at the time of the alleged incident.

Robinho has been incarcerated at Tremembe prison, 150km from Sao Paulo, since March 2024. He has always maintained his innocence, with legal representatives lodging a release request on his behalf.

Said appeal has been knocked back by authorities in Brazil following a vote that ruled 10-1 in favour of keeping Robinho behind bars. A vote in November 2024 upheld the validity of Robinho’s sentence being transferred to Brazil.

Justice Luiz Fux said after the latest poll, as reported by CNN Brasil: “The declaration of opposition is only admissible when there is ambiguity, obscurity, contradiction or omission in the sentence or ruling, as provided for in article 619 of the CPP.

“The defence is unreasonable. The Plenary of this Supreme Court, by majority, expressly rejected, in this specific case, the principle of non-retroactivity provided for in Article 5, XL, of the Federal Constitution, considering it inapplicable in the present case.”

Robinho, who also represented Santos and Manchester City, saw his professional football career brought to a close in 2020 when he took the decision to focus on legal matters and his defence in court.