The Spaniard Luis Rubiales was convicted on Thursday for sexual assault, but was acquitted of the charge of unlawful coercion.
The case concerned the 47-year-old's alleged attempts to exert pressure on Hermoso and her family on several occasions and in several ways after the so-called scandalous kiss during the prize ceremony when Spain won the World Championship in the summer of 2023.
"My boss kissed me"
I just felt it was completely wrong, my boss kissed me. It shouldn't happen, it was disrespectful during what should have been one of the happiest days of my life, said Hermoso when she testified on the first day of the trial in early February.
The prosecutor had demanded two and a half years' imprisonment – one year for sexual assault and one and a half years for unlawful coercion – but Rubiales' sentence was a fine of 10,800 euros (approximately 120,000 kronor).
He was also sentenced to a one-year ban on contact. He is not allowed to communicate with the player or be within a 200-meter radius of Hermoso, according to several media outlets.
Shortly after the court in San Fernando de Henares outside Madrid announced the verdict, Rubiales, via his lawyer, stated that he would appeal the verdict. On Thursday, the same message came from Hermoso.
It is her intention (to appeal), says the player's lawyer Ángel Chavarría, according to the AFP news agency.
"It is a sexual assault"
34-year-old Hermoso has said that the kiss occurred without consent. Rubiales has claimed that the kiss was mutual, but unfortunate.
A kiss without consent is a sexual assault, said Spain's Minister for Equality Ana Redondo García to the AP news agency after the verdict.
The criticism against Rubiales was enormous after the kiss following the World Championship final in Sydney on August 20, 2023. He initially refused to resign, but a few days after the final, the International Football Association (Fifa) banned him from all football for three months during the investigation.
In September 2023, it was then announced that he would resign, and in October of the same year, Fifa announced that Rubiales would be banned for three years. The Spaniard took the matter further to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but on Friday, Cas announced that his appeal would be rejected.
