JUST IN:Luis Rubiales found guilty of sexual assault after kissing Jenni Hermoso without consent after World Cup final…….Read more 

 

 

 

Luis Rubiales, 47, stood accused of sexual assault and of then attempting to coerce Jenni Hermoso, 34, into declaring the kiss had been consensual. He denied the charges as he stood trial at the High Court in Madrid.

Former Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales has been found guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent after the Women’s World Cup final in 2023.

Spain’s High Court has ordered Rubiales to pay a fine of more than €10,000 (£8,274) but has acquitted him of coercion.

Prosecutors had demanded a prison sentence for Rubiales, who is to appeal the ruling, saying: “I am going to keep fighting.”

World Cup winner Hermoso, 34, previously told Rubiales’s trial in Madrid she “never”agreed to him kissing her on the lips – and the moment “tainted one of the happiest days” of her life.

Rubiales, 47, was accused of sexual assault and of then attempting to coerce Hermoso, who is Spain’s all-time top goalscorer, into declaring the kiss had been consensual.

He denied the charges, claiming the kiss on the lips was consensual and happened in a “moment of jubilation”.

Hermoso repeatedly claimed the kiss with Rubiales, a controversy which ended up overshadowing Spain’s 1-0 victory over England in August 2023, was not consensual.

The ensuing scandal eclipsed Spain’s first Women’s World Cup victory and proved a tipping point for efforts by Spain’s female players to expose sexism and achieve parity with male counterparts.

Hermoso told the High Court earlier this month she “felt disrespected” and had “never” agreed to the kiss.

“I didn’t hear or understand anything,” she said. “The next thing he did was to grab me by the ears and kiss me on the mouth.”

“I knew I was being kissed by my boss and that should not happen in any social or work environment,” she added.

“I think it was a moment that tainted one of the happiest days of my life.

“All this meant I couldn’t enjoy at all being a world champion after I landed back in Madrid.”