Luis Rubiales, the disgraced former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, was found guilty in a Madrid court on Thursday of sexually assaulting Spain player Jenni Hermoso when he forcibly kissed her at the 2023 Women’s World Cup final. He will be appealing the decision, according to Reuters.
The judge acquitted him of coercion, another charge he was facing during his trial this month, and did not sentence him to any jail time despite prosecutors’ argument that he should spend two and a half years in prison. Three other people who were also tried for coercion were also cleared on that account – ex-Spain coach Jorge Vilda, former federation sporting director Alberto Luque and ex-marketing chief Ruben Rivera.
Rubiales, though, has been ordered to pay more than $13,000 in fines and compensation, is forbidden to go within 200 meters of Hermoso for a year and has also been barred from contacting her during that time.
“This action of kissing a woman on the lips has a clear sexual connotation and is not the way people greet those with whom they are not in an emotional relationship,” judge Jose Manuel Clemente Fernandez-Prieto said in his verdict.
Rubiales forcibly kissed Hermoso during the trophy ceremony at the 2023 Women’s World Cup final in Sydney, Australia, where Spain won the trophy for the first time after defeating England 1-0. The incident marred the historic victory for Spain, with Hermoso saying on the stand that it “stained one of the happiest days of my life.”
The incident also highlighted the years-long underappreciation of the women’s national team by federation officials, spending a small fraction of their overall budget on the women’s program as recently as 10 years ago. These issues followed Spain during their World Cup-winning run, with 15 players protesting the national team just months before the competition after detailing a toxic workplace fostered by Vilda.
Rubiales has 10 days to appeal the verdict before the same court.
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