Former football federation boss Luis Rubiales has been found guilty of sexual assault for kissing Spain forward Jenni Hermoso without her consent, according to Spain’s High Court.
The court imposed a fine of over 10,000 euros on him, but acquitted him of coercion charges. The case, which sparked a debate in Spain about sexism in women’s football, saw prosecutors initially seeking a prison sentence for Rubiales.
However, the court in a statement today, said: “The ruling bans Rubiales from going within a 200-meter (656-foot) radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year.”
Rubiales, along with three other former soccer federation officials, was accused of trying to coerce Hermoso into saying the kiss at the 2023 FIFA World Cup awards ceremony in Sydney was consensual. He eventually resigned from his position and received a three-year ban from FIFA.
Despite him denying any wrongdoing and claiming the kiss was consensual, Hermoso maintained that she did not consent to it.
