Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting the footballer Jennifer Hermoso by kissing her on the lips against her will, ruled Spain's National Court. He was ordered to pay a fine of €10,800 and compensation of €3,000 for moral damages to the player.
The Central Criminal Court of the National Court sentenced Rubiales to an 18-month fine of 20 euros per day for the crime of sexual assault, reported Marca (February 20).
The prosecutors had been seeking a prison term.
The judge pointed out that although sexual assault is always "reprehensible", in this case it is of "lesser intensity" since there was no violence or intimidation, reported RTVE (February 20).
Also, Rubiales, 47, was acquitted of coercion for allegedly trying to pressure Hermoso, 34, into saying publicly that the kiss was consensual.
At a congratulations lineup after Spain’s victory in the Women’s World Cup, Rubiales kissed Hermoso on the lips on August 20, 2023.
Since then and during the trial, Hermoso has insisted that the kiss was not consensual, and Rubiales has contended the opposite.
In his February 20 verdict, Judge José Manuel Clemente Fernández-Prieto disagreed with Rubiales.
Fernández-Prieto ruled that Rubiales sexually assaulted Hermoso when he "grabbed the player's head with both hands and, then, in a sudden manner and without her consent and acceptance, kissed her on the lips," reported The Guardian (February 20).
The judge added: "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."
He also noted that Rubiales had congratulated other members of the team by kissing them on the cheek.
The ruling also banned Rubiales from going within a 200-meter (656 feet) radius of Hermoso and for communicating with her for one year, reported BBC News. This restraining order had first been issued on September 15, 2023, reported La Vanguardia (September 15, 2023).
Three co-defendants and former colleagues of Rubiales, accused of colluding in the alleged coercion -- Jorge Vilda, former coach of the women's national team, Rubén Rivera, the Royal Spanish Football Federation's former head of marketing and Albert Luque, former sporting director -- were cleared of those charges.
Reactions
The judge gave Rubiales, whose annual salary at the football federation was €675,000, 10 days to appeal the sentence before the same court, according to The Guardian. His lawyer, Olga Tubau, has confirmed that he will file an appeal.
Hermosa's lawyer, Angel Chavarría, maintained that "the important thing is that he has been convicted of sexual assault". "Once we have studied (the judicial decision), Jennifer will make the decision (of whether or not to appeal)," reported RTVE (February 20).
Minister of Equality of Spain, Ana Redondo, welcomed the verdict:
"The important thing here to underline that a non-consensual kiss is a sexual assault," she said in The Guardian.
On the other hand, RTVE reported that the Federation of Progressive Women has expressed its "deep disappointment at the minimal sentence for Rubiales and the fact that there has been no sentence for the rest of the accused", something that they consider "serious" because "it reinforces the aggressors in their behavior."
"We firmly believe that this has a deactivating effect on reporting by other women who suffer sexual violence and reinforces the feeling of impunity and distrust in the judicial system."
The Trial
The trial began on February 3 and ended on February 14 after nine sessions. During that time, Rubiales, who claimed that the footballer had consented, and Hermoso, who said she felt disrespected and "unprotected" by the football federation, as well as 20 other witnesses testified in court, reported RTVE (February 20).
Spanish prosecutors were seeking a prison term of two years and six months for Rubiales, reported CNN (March 28, 2024). The Public Ministry accused Rubiales formally of sexual assault in kissing Hermoso “without consent or acceptance.”
The indictment carried one count of sexual assault and one of coercion in the aftermath of the kiss, offenses carrying prison terms of one year and 18 months, respectively, reported The Guardian (March 27, 2024).
Rubiales had brushed aside any suggestion that the kiss of Hermoso was inappropriate. “It was a kiss between two friends celebrating something,” he told the broadcaster, COPE, on August 20, 2023, according to The Guardian (August 21, 2023), dismissing those who saw it differently as “idiots and stupid people”. He added: “Let’s ignore them and enjoy the good things.”
On September 10, 2023, three weeks after fierce criticism of the kiss and demand for his resignation, Rubiales left his position as head of the Spanish football federation, reported El Pais (September 10, 2023).
Federation Internationale of Football Association (FIFA) banned Rubiales from all football-related activities at national and international levels for three years, following an initial 90-day suspension related to the events around the FIFA Women's World Cup, according to Inside FIFA (October 30, 2023).
Hermosa signed with Tigres, a Mexican professional women's football based in San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, in January 2024.
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