Spanish Coach Rubiales Found Guilty of Sexual Assault Over Kiss

Former Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales has been found guilty of sexual assault after he non-consensually kissed Spanish footballer Jenny Hermoso during the Women's World Cup in Sydney, CNN reports.  

Prosecutors insisted on a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence, but the court limited the sentence to a €10,800 fine.  

Rubiales was also banned from approaching Hermoso within 200 metres and from contacting her for a year.  

During the court hearing, Rubiales stated that he was ‘absolutely sure’ that the footballer had consented to the kiss. He called it an ‘expression of affection’ and described it as a ‘completely spontaneous’ gesture.  

In contrast, Hermoso insisted that she had not consented. She emphasised that the incident had ‘darkened the happiest day of my life’.  

The prosecution also claimed that Rubiales and three of his colleagues - former Spanish women's national team head coach Jorge Wilda, former Royal Spanish Football Federation sporting director Albert Luque and former head of its marketing department Ruben Rivera - pressured Hermoso to confirm that the kiss was consensual. However, all four were found not guilty of the charge.