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Spanish prosecutors want Rubiales jailed for 2.5 years for World Cup kiss

Spanish prosecutors are seeking two-and-a-half years jail for disgraced ex-football chief Luis Rubiales who is facing trial for kissing Spain midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips against her will, court documents showed Wednesday

Spanish prosecutors want Rubiales jailed for 2.5 years for World Cup kiss
Luis Rubiales delivers a speech in August 2023. Photo: Eidan RUBIO/RFEF/AFP.

Prosecutors also want Rubiales, who has been charged with sexual assault and coercion, to pay at least €50,000 ($54,000) in compensation to Hermoso, they wrote in a document sent to Spain’s Audiencia Nacional court, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

During the incident, which took place on August 20 after Spain beat England to win the Women’s World Cup final in Australia, Rubiales held Hermoso’s head in both hands and forcibly kissed her on the lips.

The kiss took place live in front of the world’s cameras, provoking widespread outrage and prompting his suspension by world football governing body FIFA.  At the time, Rubiales brushed it off as “a consensual” peck on the lips, but Hermoso, 33, said it was not.

READ ALSO: Death of the Iberian macho: What the Rubiales kiss uproar says about Spain

Under Spanish law, a non-consensual kiss can be classed as sexual assault — a criminal category that groups all types of sexual violence.

Rubiales “grabbed the player’s head with both hands, and surprisingly and without consent or the player’s acceptance, he kissed her on the lips,” they wrote.

After realising the kiss could have “personal and professional consequences” with his suspension by FIFA on August 26, Rubiales and his entourage began to exert “constant pressure” on Hermoso so that she “publicly justify” the kiss as consensual.

PROFILE: Who is Spain’s disgraced football chief Luis Rubiales?

The pressure caused her “anxiety and intense stress” for several months, they wrote.

Prosecutors requested that the 46-year-old face a year behind bars for the kiss, and 18 months jail for the charge of coercion.

Three of his former associates are also being tried for putting pressure on Hermoso: former women’s coach Jorge Vilda, men’s team director Albert Luque and RFEF marketing boss Ruben Rivera.

In terms of compensation, prosecutors want Rubiales to pay Hermoso €50,000 for the kiss and have said that he and the three other defendants jointly pay her 50,000 euros for the coercion charge.

It was not immediately clear whether the amount would be evenly split.

Hermoso filed a lawsuit against Rubiales in September, telling the judge she had come under pressure to defend him both on the flight back from Australia and on a subsequent team holiday to Ibiza in the Balearic Islands.

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CORRUPTION

Rubiales denies ‘irregularities’ in Spanish football corruption probe

Disgraced former Spanish football federation chief Luis Rubiales denied any financial "irregularities" on Monday after testifying in court in a corruption probe into his time in charge.

Rubiales denies 'irregularities' in Spanish football corruption probe

“What I maintain, and will always maintain, and I am convinced that justice will (demonstrate), is there has never been any money received in an irregular way,” Rubiales told reporters after leaving the Madrid court.

Rubiales, 46, who resigned following global outrage after he forcibly kissed Women’s World Cup star Jenni Hermoso last summer after the final, testified at length.

“I have answered all the questions I was asked, if I have to come here again I will be here, collaborating – I am the one most interested in clearing everything up,” said Rubiales.

Rubiales must appear in court every month and ask permission from the judge before making any trips outside of Spain, a court source told AFP.

Rubiales was briefly detained on his return to Spain from the Dominican Republic at the start of April as part of a probe into federation (RFEF) contracts signed since 2018, including one signed by Rubiales to take the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.

“There has never been any irregular tender, we have been paid with the utmost excellence and in the pursuit of legality,” added Rubiales.

On March 20th investigators searched Rubiales’ house in the southern city of Granada among 11 locations in the alleged graft scandal.

The raids were part of “an investigation linked to presumed crimes linked with corruption in business, fraudulent administration and money laundering”, according to judicial sources.

The Super Cup contracts are worth €40 million a year ($43.3 million) with the deal brokered by Kosmos, a company owned by former Barcelona and Spain defender Gerard Pique.

The Spanish Super Cup took place for the first time in Saudi Arabia in 2020.

It returned to Spain for a year during the Covid-19 pandemic but the subsequent three editions have returned to the oil-rich Gulf state.

New Spanish football president Pedro Rocha is also under investigation in the alleged graft case.

Rocha served as federation vice-president under Rubiales, then replaced him on an interim basis before being elected as chief this week.

Rubiales is also set to go on trial over the non-consensual kiss on Hermoso’s lips, which under Spanish law can be classed as sexual assault.

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