Eight members of the Cuban national men's volleyball team, including the team's captain, were held in
Tampere,
Finland on suspicion of aggravated
gang rape of a 35-year-old Finnish woman, as of July 2016. Two of them later had their charges dismissed. The incident took place in the
Hotel Ilves at Tampere where the Olympics-bound Cuban team were staying. The arrested players were scheduled to play with the Cuban team at the
2016 Summer Olympics in
Rio de Janeiro. On 16 August, the six team members still remaining in custody were charged with aggravated rape at Pirkanmaa District Court and the proceedings started on 29 August. On 20 September, four of the men,
Osmany Uriarte,
Rolando Cepeda Abreu,
Ricardo Norberto Calvo, and
Abraham Alfonso Gavilán were given five-year jail sentences, while
Luis Sosa Sierra was facing a prison term of three and a half years. All men appealed, and on 30 June 2017, the
Turku court of appeal decreased the length of all sentences and lifted the sentence of Sosa Sierra. Sosa Sierra was found not guilty due to lack of evidence, and he received compensation from the government of Finland of 200,000 euros for financial and reputational harm. According to
The New York Times, the Cuban Volleyball Association stated early on that the athletes’ behavior was counter to the “discipline the sense of honor and respect that govern our sport and society”. ==Kit providers==