Ex-Soccer Executive Luis Rubiales Convicted of Sexual Assault for World Cup Kiss

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This article contains references to sexual assault.

Spain’s High Court has found former football federation boss Luis Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent and has fined him over 10,000 euros ($16,000) in a case which caused a nationwide furore.

He was acquitted of a charge of coercion, the court said in its ruling on Thursday (local time).

Rubiales has confirmed he will appeal, saying: “I am going to keep fighting.”

Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence for the 47-year-old over the incident that provoked a heated debate in Spain about sexism in women’s football and wider Spanish society and gave momentum to a “Me Too” movement in the country.

The court said it had also acquitted Rubiales’ three co-defendants who were accused of attempting to coerce Hermoso into saying the kiss at the 2023 World Cup-winning ceremony in Sydney was consensual. The ensuing scandal overshadowed Spain’s victory.

Rubiales, also the target of a separate corruption investigation into commissions paid over a lucrative deal to stage the men’s Spanish Super Cup competition in Saudi Arabia, has maintained throughout this month’s trial that Hermoso had consented to be kissed amid the celebrations.

But Judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto said he believed Hermoso’s testimony that she had not.

He found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault. But he said while this was “always reproachable”, this instance was of minor intensity as there was no violence or intimidation.

A female football player in red T-shirt and shorts during a match

During the trial, Jenni Hermoso said the unsolicited kiss from her boss and the commotion that followed “tainted one of the happiest days of my life”. Source: AAP / John Cowpland/AP

As it involved a kiss rather than a more serious action, Rubiales should be spared time in prison, Fernandez-Prieto said.

“The pecuniary penalty must be chosen, which is less serious than the custodial sentence,” he said in his ruling.

The ruling also banned Rubiales from going within a 200m radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year.

He will also have to pay Hermoso 3,000 euros ($4,900) as compensation. The fine was set at 20 euros ($33) a day over an 18-month period.

‘Tainted one of the happiest days of my life’

During the trial, Hermoso said the unsolicited kiss from her boss and the commotion that followed “tainted one of the happiest days of my life”, while her teammates testified it left her overwhelmed, crying and exhausted in the following hours and days.

The overall sense of the verdict, if not the mild sentence, was hailed as a victory for women’s rights in a country where macho attitudes are still deeply ingrained in some sectors of society despite considerable progress in recent decades.

“When there is no consent, there is assault, and that is what the judge certifies in this sentence. The victim’s word is honoured, as the law stipulates, and should not be questioned,” equality minister Ana Redondo in the leftist government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X.

Prominent feminist politician Irene Montero, a member of the European Parliament, also said the ruling was a victory for the movement, although she lamented the “minimum fine and damages”.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit . In an emergency, call 000.