Ex-Spanish FA boss could face two years in jail over Kissgate
FORMER football boss Luis Rubiales could face two-anda-half years in prison over the World Cup kissing scandal.
The 46-year-old may also have to pay Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso around €100,000 in compensation if he is convicted.
Prosecutors laid out their pre-trial demands yesterday in an indictment at Spain’s High Court in Madrid.
They said they were seeking a one-year jail term for a sexual assault charge – the kiss itself – and a separate 18-month sentence for coercion linked to his subsequent alleged attempts to get the player to defend his actions.
Prosecutors added that they are seeking sentences of 18 months each for three men accused of coercion along with Rubiales in the scandal.
The furore erupted last August after Rubiales grabbed Hermoso, 33, by the head with both hands and kissed her at the awards ceremony following Spain’s Women’s World Cup final victory over England in Australia. Millions of TV viewers watched the moment in apparent bewilderment, and Hermoso later stated the kiss was completely non-consensual.
Judge Francisco de Jorge paved the way in January for Rubiales – who quit as president of the Spanish FA – to face trial. The judge insisted his probe pointed to potential illegality.
Judge de Jorge, who quizzed the former football boss and his alleged victim separately, said in a five-page ruling: ‘The investigation has revealed the existence of solid evidence the kiss Rubiales gave the player Hermoso was not consensual and was a surprise initiative on his part. Whether there was not any erotic intention, or it was a result of the state of euphoria and excitement experienced as a consequence of the extraordinary sporting triumph preceding it, is something that should be valued in a public trial.’
He said Hermoso had been left ‘bewildered’ by the ‘unexpected’ kiss and ‘didn’t have time to react’.
Judge de Jorge also proposed that former women’s team manager Jorge Vilda, men’s team director Albert Luque, and former Spanish FA marketing director Ruben Rivera should face trial. He said there was enough evidence to proceed with a formal accusation against all three men.
The judge accused Rubiales of pressuring Hermoso to publicly support him on the plane home from Sydney.
Rubiales, who is divorced and has three daughters, promised to ‘defend his innocence’, adding: ‘The happiness of the historic moment led us to carry out a mutual and consensual act.’ Trial dates are still to be set.
Millions watched in bewilderment