Former Brazilian football player Robinho has been arrested to begin serving a nine-year prison sentence for his involvement in a rape case.
He was convicted in Italy two years ago for his role in the gang rape of an Albanian woman at a nightclub in Milan back in 2013.
Robinho, aged 40, was apprehended at his residence in Santos, his hometown.
The Italian authorities had requested his extradition to serve the sentence in Italy, but Brazil declined and opted to enforce the punishment domestically.
A Brazilian court upheld this decision on Wednesday, also ruling that he must serve his sentence in prison rather than under house arrest.
Earlier on Thursday, a Supreme Court judge dismissed a plea to halt his detention, the BBC Reports.
The swift and decisive action by Brazil’s justice system has been lauded by local media, who were concerned that Robinho’s fame and wealth might enable him to evade justice.
The former Brazilian international, boasting 100 caps for his country, was playing for AC Milan at the time of the incident. Despite his appeal in 2020 and subsequent rejection by Italy’s highest court in 2022, the sentence was upheld.
Following this, Italian prosecutors issued an international arrest warrant for him.
In an interview with a Brazilian network on Sunday, Robinho claimed that the sexual encounter was consensual.