BRASILIA, March 21 — Lawyers for former Manchester City and Real Madrid footballer Robinho, who faces a nine-year prison sentence in Brazil for rape, said today they filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.

Robinho, 40, was ordered yesterday to begin his jail time “immediately” in Brazil after he was sentenced in an Italian court for taking part in the 2013 gang rape of a woman at a Milan nightclub, when he played for AC Milan.