Luis Rubiales found guilty of kissing Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso without consent at World Cup
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The former president of the Spanish soccer federation, Luis Rubiales, has been found guilty of kissing Jenni Hermoso without consent.
Rubiales was accused of sexual assault and coercion after he kissed forward Hermoso while celebrating Spain’s victory at the Women’s World Cup final 2023. On Thursday, Madrid’s High Court returned its verdict, but cleared him of coercion.
He has been ordered to pay a fine worth more than 10,000 euros (£8,276.70), set at 20 euros a day over an 18-month period.
The Court said: “The ruling bans Rubiales from going within a 200-meter radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year.”
Prosecutors originally sought a prison sentence for Rubiales, with Ms Hermoso and Spain’s players’ association demanding he be locked up for two and a half years. They also asked for a payment of 50,000 euros (£42,000) for damages, and for him to be banned from working as a sports official.
A lawyer for Ms Hermoso was not immediately available for comment.
Three co-defendants, former Spain women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda, former sports director of Spain’s men’s team Albert Luque, and the federation’s former head of marketing, Rubén Rivera, were also charged – and acquitted for coercion. They were accused of attempting to coerce Ms Hermoso into saying the kiss was consensual.
In the trial which began on February 3, Ms Hermoso argued that she “never” consented to Rubiales’ advances. “I didn’t hear or understand anything. The next thing he did was to grab me by the ears and kiss me on the mouth.”
She said the moment had “tainted one of the happiest days of my life.”
Forced to resign and banned by FIFA, Rubiales has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the kiss was consensual and he has been a victim of a “witch hunt” by “false feminists.”
Rubiales said he was “absolutely sure” Ms Hermoso gave him consent.
“I asked her: ‘Can I give you a little kiss?’ She said: ‘all right.’ That’s what happened,” Rubiales told the court.
Captured on the world stage, as millions watched the match against England on television, the kiss sparked widespread outrage globally. Rubiales also grabbed his crotch in the moment, while standing near Spain’s Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia.
It became a part of Spain’s own MeToo movement, called #SeAcabó or “It’s Over”, which saw a number of protests take place across the country, including in Rubiales’ hometown of Motril as a counter protest after his mother Ángeles Béjar announced a hunger strike against the “inhumane and bloodthirsty hunt” against her son.
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