Former Spanish Football Association President Luis Rubiales has been found guilty of sexual assault. The case stems from Rubiales kissing player Jenni Hermoso after Spain's women's national team won the Women's World Cup final in 2023.
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02-24, 2025On Thursday, Spain's National Court sentenced Rubiales to a fine of more than 10,000 euros (approximately $16,380 USD) and ordered him to stay at least 200 meters away from Hermoso for one year and to refrain from any form of communication with her. Furthermore, Rubiales was found not guilty of coercion, an accusation stemming from his attempts to downplay the kiss during the awards ceremony in Sydney.
The kiss sparked widespread outrage in Spain and overshadowed the celebrations of Spain's first-ever Women's World Cup victory. Rubiales claimed that Hermoso had consented to the kiss, but Hermoso denied this claim. Three other former members of the Spanish Football Association, including former women's team coach Jorge Vilda, men's team sporting director Albert Luque, and marketing director Ruben Rivera, were also found not guilty of coercion.
Hermoso testified that she "felt belittled by Rubiales" after winning the World Cup. She also stated that she was pressured into recording a video with Rubiales, then the president of the Football Association, to downplay the impact of the kiss. Rubiales and the other defendants stated that they never tried to force Hermoso to do anything and claimed that she did not initially consider the kiss to be significant.
Rubiales resigned under pressure three weeks after the scandal broke and was banned from football for three years by FIFA. He had stated that he was the victim of a "political persecution" launched by "false feminists." During his testimony, he expressed regret for the kiss, stating that it was not in line with the behavior expected of the president of the national football association, but he did not believe it should be considered sexual assault. The incident triggered widespread anger beyond the realm of football and ignited one of the most embarrassing scandals in the history of Spanish soccer.
