Latest news with #Hermoso
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Spain's High Court upholds conviction of ex-soccer chief Luis Rubiales in kiss case
MADRID - Spain's High Court on June 25 upheld a verdict that found former soccer federation president Luis Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for an unsolicited kiss on the lips of national team player Jenni Hermoso at the 2023 World Cup in Sydney. The court rejected multiple appeals against the conviction, reaffirming Rubiales kissed Hermoso without her consent during the medal ceremony after Spain's women had won the trophy, according to the ruling seen by Reuters. Rubiales was fined over €10,000 (S$15,000) and acquitted of coercion charges alongside three co-defendants. Prosecutors had sought a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence and called for a retrial, both of which were dismissed. The incident sparked widespread debate about sexism in Spanish society and women's football, fuelling momentum for the 'Me Too' movement in the country. Rubiales argued that his actions were motivated by an uncontrollable joy, but the court ruled that his restraint with other players and attendees demonstrated he could have avoided such behaviour with Hermoso. 'Since that emotion did not lead him to express his joy so effusively by kissing the other players or the accompanying persons in the box, and he restrained himself, he could also have done so, without too much effort, with the captain of the team,' the court said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rubiales to appeal fine for Hermoso forced kiss
The kiss sparked a global uproar that forced Luis Rubiales to relinquish his post as Spanish football federation chief (JAVIER SORIANO) Disgraced former Spanish football federation chief Luis Rubiales will appeal at the Supreme Court the confirmation of his 10,800-euro fine for forcibly kissing Jenni Hermoso, his lawyer said on Wednesday. After a keenly awaited trial that gripped the country, Spain's top criminal court in February found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for the kiss at the 2023 Women's World Cup that generated global outrage. Advertisement The Audiencia Nacional also cleared him of a separate accusation of coercion for allegedly forcing Hermoso to downplay the incident afterwards. Both parties contested the sentence, which fell short of the two and a half year prison term sought by prosecutors and infuriated feminist groups that condemned the punishment as too lenient. Rubiales maintained the kiss was a consensual "peck" between friends celebrating during the medal ceremony after star forward Hermoso had just helped Spain beat England in the final in Sydney, denying any coercion. The court said in a statement on Wednesday that it had rejected the appeals of the defence team and the prosecutors, maintaining the conviction and the fine. Advertisement "The kiss was not consensual" and Hermoso "expressed her displeasure with what happened, as she herself confirmed in the trial, as well as her teammates", the court wrote. "It cannot be said that a kiss in those circumstances was frequent or common or usual." It also confirmed that Rubiales, former women's national team manager Jorge Vilda and two former senior federation officials, Albert Luque and Ruben Rivera, were cleared of the coercion charge. Rubiales's lawyer Olga Tubau told AFP that he would appeal the verdict at the Supreme Court. - Football federation in turmoil - Advertisement A separate request by the prosecutors to rerun the trial, notably due to doubts over the judge's impartiality, was dismissed. The court also maintained a ban on Rubiales from going within a 200-metre radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year. The kiss sparked a global uproar that forced Rubiales to relinquish his post, saw him banned from all football-related activity for three years and plunged the federation into a prolonged period of turmoil. The affair made Hermoso, the all-time top scorer for the national women's team, an icon of the fight against sexism and macho culture in sport. Advertisement Rubiales is also embroiled in an investigation into alleged financial irregularities totalling millions of euros related to the Spanish Super Cup's relocation to Saudi Arabia, which involved a company owned by Barcelona great Gerard Pique. Rubiales has dismissed the allegations as "falsehoods". mig/imm/mw
France 24
3 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Rubiales to appeal fine for Hermoso forced kiss
After a keenly awaited trial that gripped the country, Spain's top criminal court in February found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for the kiss at the 2023 Women's World Cup that generated global outrage. The Audiencia Nacional also cleared him of a separate accusation of coercion for allegedly forcing Hermoso to downplay the incident afterwards. Both parties contested the sentence, which fell short of the two and a half year prison term sought by prosecutors and infuriated feminist groups that condemned the punishment as too lenient. Rubiales maintained the kiss was a consensual "peck" between friends celebrating during the medal ceremony after star forward Hermoso had just helped Spain beat England in the final in Sydney, denying any coercion. The court said in a statement on Wednesday that it had rejected the appeals of the defence team and the prosecutors, maintaining the conviction and the fine. "The kiss was not consensual" and Hermoso "expressed her displeasure with what happened, as she herself confirmed in the trial, as well as her teammates", the court wrote. "It cannot be said that a kiss in those circumstances was frequent or common or usual." It also confirmed that Rubiales, former women's national team manager Jorge Vilda and two former senior federation officials, Albert Luque and Ruben Rivera, were cleared of the coercion charge. Rubiales's lawyer Olga Tubau told AFP that he would appeal the verdict at the Supreme Court. Football federation in turmoil A separate request by the prosecutors to rerun the trial, notably due to doubts over the judge's impartiality, was dismissed. The court also maintained a ban on Rubiales from going within a 200-metre radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year. The kiss sparked a global uproar that forced Rubiales to relinquish his post, saw him banned from all football-related activity for three years and plunged the federation into a prolonged period of turmoil. The affair made Hermoso, the all-time top scorer for the national women's team, an icon of the fight against sexism and macho culture in sport. Rubiales is also embroiled in an investigation into alleged financial irregularities totalling millions of euros related to the Spanish Super Cup's relocation to Saudi Arabia, which involved a company owned by Barcelona great Gerard Pique.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Court upholds assault conviction for Spain's ex-soccer chief's World Cup kiss
MADRID — Spain's High Court on Wednesday, June 25, upheld a verdict that found former soccer federation president Luis Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for an unsolicited kiss on the lips of national team player Jenni Hermoso at the 2023 World Cup in Sydney. The court rejected multiple appeals against the conviction, reaffirming Rubiales kissed Hermoso without her consent during the medal ceremony after Spain's women had won the trophy, according to the ruling seen by Reuters. Rubiales was fined over 10,000 euros ($11,592) and acquitted of coercion charges alongside three co-defendants. Prosecutors had sought a 2-1/2-year prison sentence and called for a retrial, both of which were dismissed. The incident sparked widespread debate about sexism in Spanish society and women's football, fueling momentum for the "Me Too" movement in the country. Rubiales argued that his actions were motivated by an uncontrollable joy, but the court ruled that his restraint with other players and attendees demonstrated he could have avoided such behaviour with Hermoso. "Since that emotion did not lead him to express his joy so effusively by kissing the other players or the accompanying persons in the box, and he restrained himself, he could also have done so, without too much effort, with the captain of the team," the court said.
LeMonde
3 days ago
- Sport
- LeMonde
Spanish court upholds Luis Rubiales's fine over non-consensual kiss of Jenni Hermoso
A Spanish court on Wednesday, June 25, confirmed the €10,800 fine disgraced former football federation chief Luis Rubiales received for forcibly kissing Jenni Hermoso, a sentence feminist groups condemned as too lenient. The Audiencia Nacional said in a statement that it rejected the appeals of Rubiales's defense team and prosecutors who had sought a prison term over the kiss at the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia. After a keenly awaited trial that gripped Spain, the court in February found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for the kiss but cleared him of a separate accusation of coercion for allegedly forcing Hermoso to downplay the incident. Rubiales maintained the kiss was a consensual "peck" between friends celebrating during the medal ceremony after star forward Hermoso had just helped Spain beat England in the final in Sydney, denying any coercion. Prosecutors had sought two-and-a-half years in jail for Rubiales, one year for sexual assault and 18 months for the alleged coercion. The court also confirmed on Wednesday that Rubiales, former women's national team manager Jorge Vilda and two former senior federation officials, Albert Luque and Ruben Rivera, were cleared of the coercion charge. A separate request by the prosecutors to rerun the trial, notably due to doubts over the judge's impartiality, was dismissed. The court also maintained a ban on Rubiales from going within a 200-meter radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year. The kiss sparked a global uproar that forced Rubiales to relinquish his post, saw him banned from all football-related activity for three years and plunged the federation into a prolonged period of turmoil.
