Brazil’s justice system on Wednesday will decide whether former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will serve his nine-year rape sentence, handed down by an Italian court, in the South American country.

Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) will examine the Italian request to approve the prison sentence that was imposed in 2017 and ratified in 2022.“I hope that here in Brazil I can have the voice that I didn’t have there,” Robinho, who has protested his innocence, said in an interview with Brazilian network TV Record on Sunday.

Robson de Souza, popularly known as “Robinho”, remains free despite his conviction for being among a group of six men who gang raped a young Albanian woman out celebrating her 23rd birthday at a Milan nightclub in 2013.

Former Brazil international Robinho was playing his club football for AC Milan at the time.

His sentence was upheld by Italy’s highest court, after which Italian prosecutors issued an international arrest warrant.

Brazil does not extradite its nationals, however, and Italy asked that Robinho be made to serve his sentence in his home country instead.

On Sunday, Robinho accused the Italian justice system of “racism”.

“It was consensual,” Robinho told TV Record.

“I never denied it (the encounter). I could have denied it because my DNA was not there, but I’m not a liar.“I played for four years in Italy and I got tired of seeing stories about racism. The same people who do nothing about racism, which I repudiate, are the ones who condemned me.”

If the ruling goes against him, the 40-year-old could still remain free while awaiting an appeal to Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that he hopes Robinho can “serve” the sentence on Brazilian soil.