Former Spanish national football team president Luis Rubiales has lost his sexual assault conviction appeal.
After Spain’s women’s team won the 2023 World Cup, Rubiales was fined €10,800 ($9, 206) in February for kissing captain Jenni Hermoso without her consent.
A Spanish appeals court upheld the sentence, and it also rejected a separate prosecution appeal, which had pushed for a new trial and pressed for a jail term.
Hermoso’s head was grabbed by Rubiales and kissed her on the lips, which sparked protests and demands for his resignation.
The Audencia Nacional claimed on Wednesday that Hermoso had objected to the kiss from the beginning and that it did not consider it to be consensual.
It discovered Rubiales “restrained himself” when speaking with other players and “could also, without exerting too much effort, with the captain.”
Hermoso claimed at the start of her case that the kiss had “one of the happiest days” of her life because she had not given permission for it.
The judge upheld the sentence handed down in February, which forbids Rubiales from speaking to Hermoso for a year.
Additionally, the court upheld Rubiales’ right to not be tried for coerciveness.
Rubiales denied the accusations that he had pressured Hermoso to say the kiss was consensual in court.
Source: BBC
Leave a Reply