Luis Rubiales will stand trial for unsolicited World Cup kiss: NPR

Former Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales (centre) will stand trial on sexual assault charges after he forcibly kissed soccer star Jenni Hermoso, a Spanish judge confirmed.

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Bernat Armangue/AP

Former Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales (centre) will stand trial on sexual assault charges after he forcibly kissed soccer star Jenni Hermoso, a Spanish judge confirmed.

Bernat Armangue/AP

Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Federation, faces charges of sexual assault and coercion for kissing soccer star Jenni Hermoso without consent after the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney last year.

A Spanish judge has tried the case and confirmed the allegations, Spanish news agency EFE reported.

National Court Judge Francisco de Jorge ordered three other people to stand trial on coercion charges for allegedly pressuring Hermoso to acquit Rubiales: Jorge Vilda, former coach of the women’s national team; former men’s team director Albert Luque; and the association’s former marketing director, Rubén Rivera.

The judge ruled in January that Rubiales’ kiss last August was “non-consensual and a one-sided and surprising initiative.”

In a live-streamed moment of celebration during the gold medal ceremony following Spain’s victory, Rubiales grabbed Hermoso and forcibly kissed her on the lips. His behavior sparked intense international backlash, which included a three-year ban on Rubiales from the sport.

De Jorge said Hermoso was caught off guard by the kiss and became increasingly uncomfortable with Rubiales’ actions. Her discomfort was exacerbated by repeated pressure from Luque and Rivera to say the kiss was consensual, the judge said.

Hermoso filed a lawsuit against Rubiales in September. Two days later, prosecutors accused him of sexual assault and coercion.

Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of two and a half years for Rubiales for the unsolicited kiss and the alleged attempt to force Hermoso into a public forgiveness, and a prison sentence of one and a half years for the other three defendants, EFE reported.

A trial date has not yet been set.

Rubiales was briefly arrested last month as part of a separate investigation into alleged corruption surrounding the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia when he was federation chief.