Former President of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales (R) appears at the National Court in Madrid to testify as part of the case against him in Madrid, Spain on September 15, 2023.
OVIEDO, Spain
Prosecutors in Spain said Wednesday they will seek a 2.5-year prison sentence for former Spanish football federation head Luis Rubiales for kissing a female player and pressuring her to lie about it.
Rubiales faces a one-year sentence for sexual assault and 1.5 prison term for coercion.
The charges date to last August when he planted a kiss on the lips of Jennifer Hermoso after the Spanish women’s team won the World Cup in Sydney.
Hermoso said later that she did not want the kiss and that it was humiliating and disrespectful.
She also alleges that Rubiales and his inner circle pressured her and those around her to publicly say that the kiss was consensual.
The former coach of the women’s team, Jorge Vilda, the federation’s former marketing director Ruben Rivera and the men’s team sporting director Albert Luque all face coercion charges.
Prosecutors want to hand them a 1.5-year sentence, too.
After originally refusing to resign for the kiss and going on a public tirade against feminists, Rubiales was ousted by FIFA and eventually stepped down.
On top of the jail term, prosecutors also want Rubiales to pay at least €50,000 ($54,000) in compensation to Hermoso and forbid him from contacting her or going near her for four years.
Rubiales’ house was also raided less than a week ago as part of a separate corruption investigation related to his years running the football federation.
The football federation issued a statement Wednesday distancing itself from Rubiales “and all those who could be involved” in “irregular behaviors and decisions.”
“Spanish football is much more than its former presidents or leaders,” it said.
