Luis Rubiales reacts upon being elected to lead Spain’s soccer federation in Madrid, Spain, May 17, 2018. He was found guilty of sexual assault on Thursday. File Photo by J.P. Gandul/EPA-EFE
Former Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales was found guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting a soccer player Jenni Hermoso in 2023 but was found innocent on coercion charges.
Rubiales was ordered to pay a fine of nearly $11,300 and to stay more than 218 yards from Hermoso for the next year. Advertisement
The ruling in Spanish court resulted from a Rubiales kissing Hermoso on the lips during the award ceremony after the Spanish women’s national team won the World Cup in August 2023 in Sydney. Hermoso said the kiss was forced and against her will while Rubiales said it was consensual.
The incident had already cost Rubiales his job leading Spain’s national soccer teams and his standing with FIFA.
The court cleared Rubiales of trying to force Hermoso to say after the incident that the kiss was consensual. She said in court testimony that she never gave him permission to kiss her and the incident “stained one of the happiest days of my life.”
The kiss was seen not only by the fans at the stadium but an estimated millions watching on television around the world. Advertisement
“Obviously, even today, I say that my life changed at that moment,” Hermoso said. “I’d spent years fighting to win titles for my team, like the World Cup, but all that’s happened to me means that I just haven’t been able to enjoy any of it from the moment I set foot back in Madrid.”
Rubiales will be given time to appeal the sentence.
