MADRID: Former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales has been given a €10,800 fine and a restraining order after being found guilty of sexually assaulting Jenni Hermoso during Spain’s Women’s World Cup final celebrations in 2023.

Rubiales kissed Hermoso on the mouth without her consent during the presentation ceremony after Spain beat England. Along with the fine, Rubiales has been prohibited from approaching Hermoso within a 200-metre radius and from communicating with her for one year.

Rubiales has also been acquitted of coercion after he was accused of trying to get Hermoso to say that the kiss was consensual. Prosecutors had demanded a two-and-a-half year jail sentence for the 47-year-old.

Jorge Vilda, the former head coach of Spain’s women’s national team, Albert Luque, the former Spanish football federation sporting director, and Ruben Rivera, the federation’s former marketing chief, were also cleared of coercion.

During the trial, Hermoso said she felt ‘disrespected’ by Rubiales’ actions and said the fallout from the final had put her life on ‘standby’.

She said: “I felt it was totally out of place and I then realised my boss was kissing me, and this shouldn’t happen in any social or workplace setting.

“I felt disrespected. One of the happiest days of my life was tarnished and I think it’s very important for me to say that I never sought, much less expected, that this would happen. I think personally that it was a lack of respect.

“Obviously, even today, I say that my life changed at that moment. I’d spent years fighting to win titles for my team, like the World Cup, but all that’s happened to me means that I just haven’t been able to enjoy any of it from the moment I set foot back in Madrid.

“I’m a world champion but it seems that, even to this day, my life has been on standby. I honestly haven’t been able to live freely.”

Rubiales had always remained adamant that he had received consent from Hermoso. He told the court: “I am absolutely sure that she gave me her permission. In that moment it was something completely spontaneous.”

The Spanish Football Federation, led by Rubiales at the time of the World Cup win, had initially accused Hermoso of lying about her version of events and her claim that the kiss was not consensual.

Rubiales resigned from his position as the president of the Spanish Football Federation in September 2023 almost a month after the World Cup final.

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