Spanish prosecutors want two-and-a-half years in prison for disgraced former football chief Luis Rubiales, who is on trial for kissing Spain female player Jenni Hermoso on the lips against her will, court documents showed Wednesday.
Rubiales has been accused of sexual assault and coercion. In a document submitted to Spain’s Audiencia Nacional court, which AFP was able to see, prosecutors also demanded that Rubiales pay Hermoso at least 50,000 euros ($54,000).
After Spain defeated England in the Women’s World Cup final in Australia on August 20, Rubiales grabbed Hermoso’s head with both hands and gave her a forceful kiss on the lips.
The kiss, which happened live in front of the world’s cameras, sparked outrage and led to his suspension by FIFA.
Rubiales described it as “a consensual” lip kiss at the time, but Hermoso, 33, said it wasn’t. A non-consensual kiss may fall under the criminal category of sexual assault in Spain, which includes all forms of sexual abuse.
Rubiales suddenly and without the player’s permission or approval “grabbed the player’s head with both hands, and he kissed her on the lips,” they wrote.
Rubiales and his entourage began exerting “constant pressure” on Hermoso to “publicly justify” the kiss as consensual after realizing it may have “personal and professional consequences” with his FIFA ban on August 26. They wrote that the pressure caused her “anxiety and intense stress” for several months.
Prosecutors demanded that the 46-year-old serve a year in prison for the kiss and 18 months for coercion. Three of his former associates are also on trial for putting pressure on Hermoso: former women’s coach Jorge Vilda, men’s team director Albert Luque and RFEF marketing boss Ruben Rivera.
Prosecutors have demanded that Rubiales pay Hermoso 50,000 euros for the kiss and that he and the other three defendants pay Hermoso 50,000 euros in total compensation for the coercion charges.
