Jennifer Hermoso will appeal Luis Rubiales ‘forced kiss’ verdict
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Jenni Hermoso getting a hug from Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales, who also kissed her after Spain won the 2023 Women's World Cup.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MADRID – Footballer Jennifer Hermoso will appeal the verdict in the case of former Spain football chief Luis Rubiales, who was fined after being found guilty of a forced kiss
“It is her intention” to appeal, said lawyer Angel Chavarria.
In a case which rocked Spain, prosecutors had sought a 2½-year prison term for Rubiales – one year for sexual assault and 18 months for coercion for having allegedly put pressure on the player to downplay the incident afterwards.
A judge at Spain’s High Court on Feb 20 found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault over the kiss and fined him €10,800 (S$15,100), but spared him a prison sentence.
Rubiales was acquitted of coercion, for allegedly trying to pressure Hermoso into making a public statement that the kiss was consensual.
Rubiales, 47, said after the verdict that he will appeal.
The judge wrote in his ruling that kissing a woman on the mouth “is not the normal way of greeting people with whom one has no sentimental relationship”, saying Rubiales had violated Hermoso’s “sexual freedom” without her consent.
Video footage of the scandal that rocked women’s football shows then Spanish federation chief Rubiales clasping Hermoso’s head at the 2023 Women’s World Cup medal ceremony in Sydney and kissing her on the lips before letting her go with two slaps on the back.
But Rubiales told the court he was “totally sure” Hermoso consented to the kiss as she went up to receive her winner’s medal, which was broadcast live around the world, and denied putting pressure on her after the incident.
The global outcry over the kiss forced Rubiales to resign in disgrace and thrust the spotlight on the prevalence of macho culture and sexism in sport.
After the verdict, Spanish Justice Minister Felix Bolanos hailed Hermoso’s courage to defend the rights and freedom of women, sending a message that Spanish society “no longer admits any type of abuse or sexual assault”.
“One thing is clear, a non-consensual kiss is sexual assault, period,” he added.
Separately, Australia women’s coach Tom Sermanni has taken his team to task after his full-strength side slumped to their heaviest defeat by Japan in a 4-0 horror show in Houston on Feb 20.
The Nadeshiko scored through a first half-brace by Mina Tanaka and goals by Maika Hamano and Moeka Minami in the opening match of the invitational SheBelieves Cup.
Sermanni, who called the defensive errors “un-Australian”, insisted that injured captain Sam Kerr’s court case in London and a pay dispute between the players and Football Australia did not impact the Matildas’ performance.
Kerr was found not guilty of racially abusing a police officer in a trial that gripped her home nation. AFP, REUTERS
