- Rubiales was head of the Spanish Football Association during the 2023 World Cup
- The kiss caused outrage in Spain and worldwide and spoiled the celebration.
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The former Spanish soccer chief Luis Rubiales was convicted of kissing Jenni Hermoso during the presentation of the 2023 World Cup trophy without her consent by a Spanish superior court.
Rubiales, 47, has received the order to pay a fine of € 20 per day for the next 18 months, a total sum of £ 8,250, and cannot go to 200 meters from the striker.
Prosecutors are looking for two and a half years in prison against Rubiales for sexual aggression for forced kiss and allegedly forcing beautiful to minimize the incident. But he has avoided a custody sentence in addition to being acquitted by the position of coercion.
His three coacked former coach of the national team Jorge Vilda, the former sports director of the Federation of the National Male team, Albert Luque, and the former Marketing Chief, Ruben Rivera, also found himself not guilty of the position.
Rubiales was accused of sexual assault and coercion for allegedly trying to minimize the kiss that caused outrage in Spain and worldwide and tarnished the celebrations of the first team of the team's World Cup.
Earlier this month, he told the court that he was “totally safe” how beautiful he consented to kiss her on the lips after Spain won the World Cup.
The former Spanish soccer chief Luis Rubiales has been convicted of kissing Jenni Hermoso without her consent
Rubiales told the Court that he was “totally safe” that the Spanish striker consent in the kiss during the trophy ceremony in 2023
Beautiful told the court that “never” agreed on the kiss, that he had felt “disrespected” so Rubiales
“She squeezed me very strongly under my armpits, lifted me, and when I went down, I asked her if she could kiss you, and she said 'Ok', that's what happened,” he said.
“What happened did not matter to her or for her,” Rubiales added during her highly anticipated testimony, describing the kiss as “an act of affection.”
He said the kiss was to mark a unique moment because “I don't want a World Cup every day,” adding: “Even when I see my daughters I didn't kiss them, but on the eve of the New Year we kissed. '
Prosecutor Marta Durántez asked him if he would have acted in the same way “if he had been a man”, to which he replied: “It depends on whether he had been a player with whom I have a great relationship.”
He said that in the national team there were “three or four players with whom I have a great relationship and that one of them was Jenni Hermoso.”
Referring to celebrations with male soccer players, he said that the World Cup victory was not comparable to the UEFA National League, but added: “He used to kiss many players.”
Beautiful told the court that “he never” agreed on the kiss, that he had felt “disrespected” for what Rubiales had done and “stained one of the happiest days of my life.”
Rubiales, who was the head of the Spanish Football Association at the time of the 2023 tournament in Australia, resigned in disgrace later that year.
While Rubiales insisted that the kiss was not illegal or immoral during the trial, the soccer chief admitted that it had been a mistake.
“It was a mistake, I was the president of the Federation and from the beginning I recognized that it was a mistake,” he said. “I acted as an athlete who was a member of the group and should have adopted a more institutional role.”