Spanish court slaps ex-soccer coach with fine over kiss

Spain's High Court has found former soccer federation boss Luis Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent and fined him over 10,000 euros ($10,434) in a case which caused a nationwide furore.

It acquitted him of a charge of coercion, the court said in a statement on Thursday.

Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence for Rubiales, 47, over the incident that provoked a heated debate in Spain about sexism in women's football and wider Spanish society and gave momentum to a "Me Too" movement in the country.

The court said it had also acquitted Rubiales' three co-defendants who were accused of attempting to coerce Hermoso into saying the kiss, at the 2023 World Cup awards ceremony in Sydney, was consensual. The ensuing scandal overshadowed Spain's victory in the tournament.

Rubiales has maintained throughout this month's trial that Hermoso had consented to be kissed amid the celebrations, but the judge said he believed Hermoso's testimony that she had not.

Judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto ruled that the sexual assault, "while always reproachable" was of minor intensity as there was no violence or intimidation.

"The Judge understands that, in view of the magnitude of the assault, a kiss, that it is a sporadic act of the accused, and that he does not require special rehabilitation for the crime, the pecuniary penalty must be chosen, which is less serious than the custodial sentence," the verdict said.

The ruling also banned Rubiales from going within a 200-meter (yard) radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year. He will also have to pay Hermoso 3,000 euros as compensation. The fine was set at 20 euros a day over an 18-month period.

Rubiales' gross annual salary at the RFEF federation was 675,762 euros.

During the trial, Hermoso said the unsolicited kiss from her boss and the commotion that followed "tainted one of the happiest days of my life", while her teammates testified it left her overwhelmed, crying and exhausted in the following hours and days.

Spain's leftist government, which had demanded Rubiales' removal from the office, hailed the verdict as upholding the victim's accusations.

"When there is no consent there is assault and that is what the judge certifies in this sentence. The victim's word is honoured, as the law stipulates, and should not be questioned," Equality Minister Ana Redondo wrote on X.

Prominent feminist politician Irene Montero, a member of the European Parliament, also said the ruling was a victory for the movement, although she lamented the "minimum fine and damages".

"Not long ago, it was unthinkable that a court would recognise a kiss without consent as a sexual assault. Feminism is changing everything: Only 'yes' means 'yes'," she said.

Lawyers for Hermoso and Rubiales were not immediately available for comment.

The ruling can be appealed.