The previous president of the Spanish soccer federation, Luis Rubiales, has been discovered responsible of kissing Jenni Hermoso without consent.
Rubiales was accused of sexual assault after he kissed ahead Hermoso whereas celebrating Spain’s victory on the Women’s World Cup final 2023. On Thursday a court docket returned its verdict, however cleared him of coercion. He has been ordered to pay a high-quality value greater than 10,000 euros (£8,276.70).
Prosecutors initially sought a jail sentence for Rubiales, with Hermoso and Spain’s gamers’ affiliation demanding he be locked up for 2 and a half years. In addition they requested for a fee of €50,000 (£42,000) for damages, and for him to be banned from working as a sports activities official. Ms Hermoso can also be asking for a court docket order banning Mr Rubiales from being close to her.
The trial began on Monday 3 February in Madrid’s High Court as Rubiales was charged with sexual assault. Three co-defendants, former Spain ladies’s nationwide workforce coach Jorge Vilda, former sports activities director of Spain’s males’s workforce Albert Luque, and the federation’s former head of selling, Rubén Rivera, had been additionally charged with coercion.
Ms Hermoso argued that she “by no means” consented to Rubiales’ advances. “I didn’t hear or perceive something. The following factor he did was to seize me by the ears and kiss me on the mouth.”
She mentioned the second had “tainted one of many happiest days of my life.”
Pressured to resign and banned by FIFA, Rubiales has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the kiss was consensual and he has been a sufferer of a “witch hunt” by “false feminists.”
Rubiales mentioned he was “completely certain” Ms Hermoso gave him consent.
“I requested her: ‘Can I offer you a bit of kiss?’ She mentioned: ‘all proper.’ That’s what occurred,” Rubiales informed the court docket.

The choose claimed there was proof that Rubiales unsuccessfully pressured Ms Hermoso to seem in a video he produced and revealed whereas public outrage over his actions mounted. They mentioned there was additionally motive to consider Vilda likewise pressured Ms Hermoso’s brother, and Luque and Rivera had been concerned within the alleged try at coercion.
Captured on the world stage, as hundreds of thousands watched the match towards England on tv, the kiss sparked widespread outrage globally. Rubiales additionally grabbed his crotch within the second, whereas standing close to Spain’s Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia.
It grew to become part of Spain’s personal MeToo motion, known as #SeAcabó or “It’s Over”, which noticed plenty of protests happen throughout the nation, together with in Rubiales’ hometown of Motril as a counter protest after his mom Ángeles Béjar introduced a starvation strike towards the “inhumane and bloodthirsty hunt” towards her son.
Extra follows on this breaking information story….
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