Spanish legal authorities have called for a prison sentence of two and a half years for Luis Rubiales, the former leader of the Spanish football federation, following an incident where he kissed a female player without her consent during Spain’s World Cup victory celebration.
Rubiales, who has refuted the allegations, is being charged with sexual assault and coercion relating to his interactions with player Jenni Hermoso at the global showpiece last August.
The episode, which Hermoso said was both uninvited and disparaging, led to Rubiales’s resignation.
Former coach of the team Jorge Vilda has also been implicated in the case, as has Albert Luque, the team’s current sporting director, and Ruben Rivera, head of marketing at the federation as a result of an alleged campaign to force Hermoso into declaring the kiss was consensual. The indictment outlines a pattern of harassment directed at Hermoso, utilising her social circles and family members to exert pressure. The trio, who have all pleaded not guilty, face up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
The prosecution is additionally seeking damages of €100,000 to be awarded to Hermoso, with at least half to be paid by Rubiales. A restraining order has also been requested against Rubiales, prohibiting any contact or proximity within 200 metres of Hermoso for seven and a half years.
The controversy marred Spain’s landmark World Cup win, diverting attention from the team’s historic achievement to the off-field incident involving Rubiales’s conduct, which also included inappropriate behaviour during the victory celebrations in the presence of Spanish royalty.
FIFA subsequently suspended then dismissed of Rubiales from his roles within both the Spanish federation and UEFA.
Jesus, 2 and a half years for kissing a woman 🤦🏼
Correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t Madeline McCann kidnapped in Spain? Isn’t there a pretty intense drug and human trafficking problem in that country? Is this REALLY what they want to crack down on?
If he’d kissed a man that night, there’d be a bronze statue of him in the centre of Madrid right now. Legacy journalists would be hysterically crying on camera and writing 50 shades type fan fiction about it.
Does anyone know what’s taking the asteroid so long? It’s time 😒😑
Quite right unquaccinated. He should have said he’s a Trans woman and not only would he have a statue in Madrid but also one in Barcelona and Valencia and be Spain’s person of the year! Bring on the asteroid (which undoubtedly will be blamed on CO2 and climate change)