The Spanish prosecutor's office is demanding two and a half years in prison against Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Federation.
He is accused of sexual assault and coercion in the case of the forced kiss given to the player Jenni Hermoso, after the final of the World Cup in Sydney, on August 20, 2023, reports News.ro.
Luis Rubiales kisses Jenni Hermoso Photo Profimedia
The Public Prosecutor's Office sent the provisional conclusions to the National Court, in which it also requests a sentence of one and a half years in prison for the crime of coercion for the former coach of the women's national team Jorge Vilda, for the former marketing director of the Federation Rubén Rivera and for the director of the men's national team, Albert Luque.
In addition to the prison sentence, the prosecutor requests that Rubiales be specifically deprived of the right to work in the field of sports for the duration of the sentence, be placed under supervision for two years and be prohibited from communicating with the player and from approaching of her within a radius of 200 meters for four years.
This case, which was investigated by a judge of the Audiencia Nacional, takes place outside the investigation into various contracts within the RFEF, such as the transfer of the Supercup to Saudi Arabia, in which Luis Rubiales is also being investigated.
The kiss took place during the medal ceremony in Sydney on August 20 last year
The incident happened after Spain's victory over England in the summer of 2023. A post-final statement attributed to the footballer indicated that the kiss was consensual. She later complained that she had been pressured by Spanish football federation officials to put her name on the statement. Rubiales is being investigated for possible coercion over his role in the alleged pressure on the player.
.Jorge Vilda, the coach who led the team to World Cup glory before being sacked shortly afterwards, is also under investigation, along with Albert Luque and Rubén Rivera, both federation executives.
The footballer told the authorities that the gesture of the former head of the federation was done against her will
Hermoso stated that she did not want to be kissed and that she felt it “victim of aggression”. Under Spanish law, a kiss without consent can be considered a form of sexual assault. On the other hand, Rubiales has always maintained that the kiss was a “consensual kiss”but following the incident, he was forced to resign as president of the Spanish Football Federation.
Prosecutors opened an investigation and last September he was banned by investigating judge Francisco de Jorge from coming within 200 meters of the footballer.
In a statement to prosecutors revealed by Spanish television in October, Hermoso said that “clearly I felt disrespected” as a player and as a person. “I didn't do anything to get into that situation… how could I have expected that in a medal ceremony scenario at a World Cup final?”
