The former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, was found guilty of sexual assault after having kissed player Jennifer Hermoso during the final of the last FIFA Women’s World Cup, in a case that scandalized the football world.
The Central Criminal Court of the National Court issued its sentence to the former leader after several days of trial in the Spanish capital, where both he and the victim, Hermoso, presented their accounts of the incident, which occurred during the medal ceremony of the last World Cup held in August in Sydney (Australia).
Will Luis Rubiales go to jail for his kiss to Jenni Hermoso during the World Cup celebration?
La Audiencia Nacional sentenced to 18 months of fines at a rate of 20 euros per day, which amounts to a total of 10,800 euros (US$ 10,434). Additionally, the ruling prohibits the former president from approaching Hermoso within a 200-meter radius and also bans communication with the Spanish footballer for a year.
In his ruling, magistrate José Manuel Fernández-Prieto, however, acquits Rubiales and the other three defendants in this proceeding of the charge of coercion: the former women’s national team coach, Jorge Vilda, the former director of men’s Football, Albert Luque, and the former head of marketing for the Federation, Rubén Rivera.
During the trial, Hermoso said that an unwanted kiss “tarnished one of the happiest days of my life”: “I knew I was being kissed by my boss and this should not happen in any work or social environment,” Hermoso stated before the court in the Spanish capital. “I felt disrespected. It was a moment that tarnished one of the happiest days of my life, and at no point did I seek or expect that act,” she added.
The beso was captured on camera during the medal ceremony and quickly went viral on social media.