The Italian Justice Ministry has issued an international arrest warrant for former Real Madrid and AC MIlan forward Robinho according to a report by Mundo Deportivo.
The Brazilian footballer is a wanted man after Italy’s top court upheld his conviction for rape, a ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday. The ministry has asked Interpol, the global police agency, to carry out the order.
But Robinho lives in Brazil and the South American nation doesn’t extradite its citizens, meaning the only way he could face arrest would be if he travelled outside of his homeland.
A Milan court found Robinho and five other Brazilian men guilty of gang-raping an Albanian women back in 2017 after getting her drunk in a nightclub. Robinho played for Milan at the time.
The conviction was upheld by a court of appeals in 2020 and was then validated by the Italian Supreme Court last month. Robinho, 38, has always denied the accusation. He earned over 100 senior caps for the Brazilian national team throughout his career.
However, Robinho may never serve the sentence as Brazil does not extradite its citizens.
That means he could only be arrested if he travelled abroad to a country that does extradite to Italy, which is nearly 70 nations, including the United States, Argentina and anywhere in the European Union.
The Justice Ministry has asked global police agency Interpol to enact the warrant.
Robinho joined Manchester City from Real Madrid for £32.5m in 2008. He left City in January 2010 to join AC Milan, where he spent four seasons before spells with Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande, Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro, and Turkish clubs Sivasspor and Istanbul Basaksehir.
He has not played a competitive game since 2020.
Credit: Various
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