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Spain's disgraced former football chief Luis Rubiales (47) goes on trial on Monday over his forced kiss of star striker Jenni Hermoso (34) that triggered global outrage. The affair has made Hermoso an icon of the fight against sexism in sport and generated soul-searching in Spain and beyond since erupting in 2023.
Prosecutors have demanded two and a half years in prison for Rubiales, one year for sexual assault for the forced kiss and 18 months for coercing Hermoso to cover up the scandal. Alongside Rubiales among the accused are ex-women's national team coach Jorge Vilda and two former federation officials, Ruben Rivera and Albert Luque.
They also stand accused of trying to coerce Hermoso with prosecutors seeking 18 months' jail against them in the highly anticipated trial which is expected to last until February 19th in a court outside Madrid. The scandal that rocked Spanish football and wrecked Rubiales' career broke on August 20th, 2023, moments after the women's national team had clinched World Cup glory by beating England in the final in Sydney.
As Hermoso joined her teammates in collecting their winner's medals, Rubiales clasped her head and kissed her on the lips before letting her go with two slaps on the back. The act unleashed a public outcry at what critics deemed an abuse of power. A recent reform of the Spanish criminal code classifies a non-consensual kiss as sexual assault. Rubiales said the kiss was an innocuous "peck between friends celebrating".
A few days later and with pressure continuing to mount, he rebuffed calls for his resignation and slammed "fake feminism" during an emergency federation general assembly. Outraged by the remarks, Hermoso broke her silence and said she felt "vulnerable and a victim... of an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part". Rubiales eventually gave in and resigned in September 2023, two days after the start of the investigation into him.
