Yet another former Brazil National Team member has been arrested over rape, and that is former Real Madrid player Robinho, who was previously convicted of rape but was allowed out of prison as his appeal played out. He is the latest Brazil soccer star to be arrested since Dani Alves was placed behind bars over similar allegations.

Robinho was convicted to spend nine years in prison by an Italian court for gang-raping a woman with five other men in 2013. He and the five others got her intoxicated with alcohol inside a Milan nightclub before raping her.

According to CNN, his lawyers tried many times to appeal his conviction, but this was finally denied by the Brazilian Supreme Court last Thursday. He has now exhausted all his judicial appeals and has been ordered to immediately begin his prison sentence.

His lawyers also tried to get Brazilian authorities to allow Robinho to serve his prison sentence in Italy where the incident happened and not Brazil. This was also denied. The former AC Milan star will now face a custody hearing on Friday before being sent to a detention facility to serve out his sentence.

Brazil Court Confirmed Robinho Rape Case Conviction Handed by Italy Court

While the deed happened back in 2013, it was not until 2017 when a Milan court found Robinho and five other Brazilians guilty of gang-raping a woman inside a nightclub in that Italian city. The verdict was then confirmed by an appeals court in 2020 before the Supreme Court of Italy validated it in 2020.

However, Robinho has been free as his appeals played out and has been playing in other teams and other countries since leaving AC Milan, including in the English Premier League when he played for Manchester City.

READ MORE: Brazil Soccer Star Dani Alves Rape Trial Begins in Spain

According to Al Jazeera, since the former Real Madrid player was living in Brazil, a country that usually does not extradite its citizens, and out of Italian jurisdiction, the Italian government has requested that the South American country jail Robinho there instead, which Brazil did.

Once again, Robinho tried to appeal the conviction again and again until it reached the Supreme Court which finally rejected his appeal this week.

Former Brazil Star Robinho Blames Racism for Rape Conviction in Italy

Before his arrest, Robinho, who won several Italian Serie A titles with AC Milan, as well as several La Liga titles with Real Madrid, sat down for an interview last Sunday with Brazilian TV, claiming that he was convicted in Italy because of racism.

"I played only four years in Italy and I got tired of seeing stories of racism. Unfortunately, that exists to this day. (The rape case) was in 2013, now we are in 2024," he said in the interview. The same people who don't do anything against it (racism) are the ones who sentenced me."

However, judge Mauro Campbell Marques noted in the decision that rejected his appeal, that "Brazil cannot be a shelter for criminals."

READ MORE: Brazil: Where Soccer is Treated Like a Religion

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Rape convict Robinho arrested in Brazil • FRANCE 24 English