CAS dismisses Rubiales appeal against Fifa ban

Luis Rubiales ‘ appeal against a three-year Fifa ban from football has been dismissed.

The former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) was suspended for three years by football’s world governing body in October 2023.

Jenni Hermoso, a member of Spain, received a medal at the ceremony following the team’s victory in the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup final.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Rubiales’ appeal on Friday, contending that “the sanction imposed is reasonable and proportional.”

Rubiales “behaved in a way that was contrary to the Fifa Disciplinary Code principles,” according to CAS, who supported the suspension in January 2024.

On Thursday, Spain’s High Court convicted Rubiales of sexual assault for kissing Hermoso, 34, without consent and fined him 10, 800 euros (£8, 942).

Rubiales, 47, was prohibited from communicating with her for a year and from traveling within a 200-meter radius of the Tigres player.

He was found not guilty of coercing Hermoso because he allegedly attempted to persuade her to declare in public that the kiss was consensual.

Rubiales left his position as president of the RFEF, but he has always maintained that the kiss was mutual.