Former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales has been found guilty of sexually assaulting forward Jenni Hermoso.
The Audiencia Nacional court in Spain said it had imposed an 18-month fine equating to 20 euros a day on Rubiales, who it found had kissed Hermoso without her consent during the medal ceremony after Spain won the Women’s World Cup in 2023.
The ruling also prohibits Rubiales from going within 200 metres of Hermoso, or communicating with her, for one year.
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Rubiales was acquitted of trying to coerce Hermoso into saying the kiss was consensual. Former Spanish national team coach Jorge Vilda was also found not guilty of coercion along with other Spanish federation staff members at the time, Albert Luque and Ruben Rivera.
Rubiales was banned for three years from all football activity in October 2023 over his conduct at the World Cup final in Sydney, which was upheld on appeal in January 2024.
FIFA said at the time the appeal was upheld: “FIFA reiterates its absolute commitment to respecting and protecting the integrity of all people and ensuring that the basic rules of decent conduct are upheld.”
Prosecutors had requested a custodial sentence of two and a half years for Rubiales – one year for the kiss and 18 months for coercion – the court said in a statement confirming the verdict reached by Judge Jose Manuel Clemente Fernandez-Prieto.
The ruling of this court can be appealed against before the Criminal Division of the National Court.
Rubiales’ legal team has been contacted for comment.
A further release from the court said that the judge had analysed the crime of sexual assault and found that in this case it had been committed by “carrying out in a surprising way an act that violates the sexual freedom of another person without the consent of the assaulted”.
“It is a reprehensible act carried out by the defendant within the euphoria of the celebration of having won the World Cup, an unprecedented success in Spanish women’s football,” the judge said, according to the court release.
The release said the judge gave “full credibility” to the testimony given by Hermoso, who stressed throughout that the kiss was non-consensual.
