Former Spanish Football Boss Faces Prison for Forced Kiss: Prosecution Seeks Two and a Half Years

The prosecution on Wednesday requested two and a half years in prison against former Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales in the case of the forced kiss of Jenni Hermoso, according to his requisitions consulted by AFP.

The former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) is being prosecuted for “sexual assault” and the offense of “coercion” after having surprisedly kissed the No.10 of the Spanish women’s team on the mouth on August 20. in Sydney, a few minutes after La Roja’s World Cup coronation, a gesture which caused outrage in Spain and abroad.

In Spain, the public prosecutor’s office makes its requests known in advance, before the trial. The date of the trial of Luis Rubiales and his three co-defendants is not yet known. According to its written requisitions, the prosecution requests one year in prison for the offense of sexual assault and a year and a half for the offense of coercion, Luis Rubiales being accused of having exerted pressure, direct and indirect, on Jenni Hermoso so that the player claims that the kiss was consensual.

The prosecution also requests that the former strongman of Spanish football be placed on probation for two years after serving his sentence and that he pay 50,000 euros in compensation to the player for the forced kiss.

Morata on the Rubiales controversy: “Unacceptable behavior”

As for the other three defendants, the sentence requested against them is one and a half years in prison for the offense of coercion. They are Jorge Vilda, coach of the women’s national team at the time of the events, Rubén Rivera, former marketing director of the RFEF, and Albert Luque, at the time sports director of the men’s national team. Luis Rubiales is currently at the center of another legal case which last week led to searches of the Federation’s headquarters and his home, as part of a corruption investigation.

According to the Spanish press, the investigation concerns the enormous multi-year contract concluded by the RFEF to relocate the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia. According to information from the same Spanish press, Luis Rubiales has been in the Dominican Republic for several weeks. Since the reform of the Spanish Penal Code, a non-consensual kiss is considered in Spain as “sexual assault”, a criminal category bringing together all types of sexual violence.

The kiss on the mouth inflicted by Luis Rubiales on Jenni Hermoso in front of cameras around the world, a few minutes after the presentation of the trophy to the Spanish players in Sydney, caused a huge wave of indignation in Spain, forcing him to resign on September 10 , after saying he was the victim of a “disproportionate campaign”. He has always denied any “sexual connotation” to his gesture, claiming to have acted out of “emotion” and in “a moment of happiness”.

FIFA announced on October 30 its suspension for three years from all football-related activities, after initially suspending it provisionally for 90 days. This three-year suspension was confirmed in January by the international body.

“Royal Federation of Shame”: Fed up with Spanish football

2024-03-27 19:35:00
#Luis #Rubiales #years #prison #required #exSpanish #football #boss #forced #kiss #Hermoso