Latest news with #LuisRubiales
DW
a day ago
- Sport
- DW
Women's Euro 2025: Five things to know – DW – 06/27/2025
Sixteen of Europe's premier women's national teams are set to compete for continental supremacy. DW has you covered on the key facts as the tournament opens in Switzerland. Euro 2025 is being hosted by Switzerland from July 2 to July 27 and the matches will be played at eight stadiums: in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Thun and Sion. Iceland and Finland open the tournament in Thun on July 2, while hosts Switzerland kick off their campaign three hours later in Basel's St. Jakob-Park stadium – where the final is to be played on July 27. Germany open their campaign against Poland in St. Gallen on July 4. By today's standards this is a relatively small tournament, with just 16 teams, divided into four groups. Each team plays the other three in their group once, with the top two from each advancing to the quarterfinals. Should matches in the knockout stage remain drawn after 90 minutes, two 15-minute periods of extra time are played. If necessary, matches will be decided in penalty shootouts. World Cup champions Spain disappointed by finishing out of the medals at last summer's Paris Olympics, still they top this list as the continent's highest FIFA-ranked women's team (No. 2). By now they should have put the controversy over the unwanted kiss by former FA President Luis Rubiales after the 2023 World Cup final behind them. Normally one of the first teams you would name would be the defending champions, however England have had a list of absences and injuries to deal with in recent months. Key central defender Millie Bright ruled herself our, saying she was at her "mental and physical limit" while fellow Euro 2022 winners Fran Kirby and goalkeeper Mary Earps retired on the eve of the squad announcement. Bayern Munich star Georgia Stanway as well as Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood of Manchester City, each missed the bulk of the season after undergoing knee surgery but all make the squad, as does the mercurial Chelsea forward Lauren James, who is nursing a hamstring injury. Germany, finalists in 2022, are just behind Spain in the FIFA rankings but are a lesser-known quantity than they were three years ago. They've gone through a coaching change after the disappointing 2023 World Cup and captain Alexandra Popp retired. New coach Christian Wück is optimistic about his squad, which he hopes will play with a mixture of "joy, enthusiasm, will and conviction." France have established themselves as regular quarterfinalists in recent Euros, making it to the semifinals in 2022 – and the Nations League Final in 2024. They had recently fallen off a bit but climbed back into the top 10 in FIFA's latest women's rankings. Following the retirement of Alexandra Popp, Giulia Gwinn has big boots to fill as Germany's new captain, but is a proven winner with Bayern Munich. She was also a member of the that fell at the last hurdle in England three years ago. Spain boast two recent Ballon d'Or winners in midfielders Aitana Bonmati (2023, 2024) and Alexia Putellas (2021, 2022) – two good reasons for making Spain one of the favorites. Both were members of Spain's World Cup-winning side in 2023 and semifinalists at the Paris Olympics. A teammate of Putellas and Bonmati at Barcelona, Ewa Pajor is making her debut at a major tournament with her national team, as this is the first time that Poland have managed to qualify for either the World Cup or the Euros. They will need the striker to be at the top of her game if they are to come out of a group with Germany, Denmark and Sweden. One of her opponents will be Pernille Harder, a veteran of more than 160 matches for Denmark at 32, she is still going strong for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. For the defending champions, Alessia Russo has graduated from Euro 2022 supersub to England's first choice striker. The Arsenal forward was joint top scorer in the domestic Women's Super League (WSL) and won the Champions League with her club. She will be the focal point for a side who have plenty of attacking midfield threats. UEFA announced late last year that it had earmarked a total of €41 million ($47 million) in prize money for the 2025 Women's Euros, representing a 156% increase on the figure from the previous tournament in 2022. In a statement, European football's governing body said the increase in funds reflected "UEFA's on-going commitment to growing women's football across Europe." Still, the women continue to trail far behind the men in this department, with the total prize money for Euro 2024 coming in at €331 million – or about eight times what the women are playing for this summer.
CNN
2 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Spain's High Court upholds conviction of ex-soccer chief Luis Rubiales in kiss case
Spain's High Court on Wednesday 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 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, 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 behavior 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.
CNN
2 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Spain's High Court upholds conviction of ex-soccer chief Luis Rubiales in kiss case
Spain's High Court on Wednesday 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 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, 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 behavior 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.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Man Accused in Jonathan Joss Shooting Claims It Was Self-Defense!
A man charged in the fatal shooting of actor Jonathan Joss is claiming self-defense. Kim Kardashian is taking on a villainous role in a new live-action film. Spain's high court has upheld a sexual assault conviction against ex-soccer chief Luis Rubiales. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit FOX News Radio
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
Rubiales to appeal fine for Hermoso forced kiss
Disgraced former Spanish Football Federation chief Luis Rubiales will appeal to the Supreme Court the confirmation of his $12,600 (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, which 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 that the kiss was a consensual 'peck' between friends celebrating during a 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 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.' The court 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 the AFP news agency that he would appeal the verdict at the Supreme Court. 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 (656-foot) radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year. The kiss led to 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. Rubiales has dismissed the allegations as 'falsehoods'.
