Soccer: Genoa's Portanova sentenced to six years for gang rape

ROME: Genoa midfielder Manolo Portanova has been sentenced to six years in jail for involvement in the gang rape of a young woman last year, Italian media reported on Tuesday.

Portanova, now 22, was initially placed under house arrest in June last year after being charged for the incident in the central city of Siena in May 2021.

Media reports said Portanova's lawyers would appeal against the sentence handed down in a summary judgement.

A source, not authorised to speak to media, told Reuters last year that the 23-year-old woman informed police she had been raped by four men in an apartment after dinner at a restaurant on May 31.

Portanova, whose uncle was sentenced to the same term under the fast-track legal process, had denied the charges against him.

One of the accused opted for a full jury trial while a fourth was a minor at the time and is due to appear before a youth tribunal in Florence, media said.

Genoa, established in 1893 and Italy's oldest soccer club, were relegated from Serie A last season and are now fifth in Serie B.