A prosecutor at Spain’s Excessive Courtroom is reportedly searching for a two-and-a-half-year jail time period for ex-Spanish FA chief Luis Rubiales who kissed Spain participant Jenni Hermoso after their World Cup win.
In a doc seen by information outlet Reuters, prosecutor Marta Durantez charged Rubiales with one rely of sexual assault and one in all coercion for his alleged actions within the aftermath of the kiss. The offences carry jail phrases of 1 12 months and 18 months respectively.
Rubiales grabbed Hermoso and kissed her on the lips in the course of the awards ceremony after Spain’s victory within the Ladies’s World Cup in Sydney on August 20 final 12 months, making international headlines and inflicting a nationwide debate in Spain about sexism.
Hermoso and her team-mates stated the kiss was undesirable and demeaning, however Rubiales argued it was consensual and denied any wrongdoing.
The prosecutor additionally accused the previous coach of the ladies’s nationwide staff, Jorge Vilda, the present sporting director of the Spanish federation (RFEF), Albert Luque, and the RFEF’s advertising chief, Ruben Rivera, of coercing Hermoso into saying the kiss was consensual.
The indictment stated the three officers harassed Hermoso by exerting “constant and repeated acts of pressure” instantly on the participant and thru her family and friends. They every face 18 months in jail as nicely.
All three denied wrongdoing once they appeared earlier than the courtroom.
Durantez additionally stated Rubiales ought to pay €50k (£42.8k) in damages to Hermoso, with one other €50k euros to be collectively paid by Rubiales, Vilda, Luque and Rivera.
As well as, she requested a restraining order barring Rubiales from coming inside 200 metres of Hermoso and from speaking along with her for the following seven and a half years.
If convicted and sentenced as requested by the prosecutor, Rubiales wouldn’t essentially must go to jail. Spain’s prison code permits judges to “exceptionally” droop jail phrases if – as on this case – not one of the sentences imposed individually exceeds two years.
Rubiales has been named in a separate corruption probe that shook the RFEF final week, when police searched the federation’s headquarters and an residence belonging to Rubiales, arresting seven individuals.
A Spanish courtroom has been investigating since June 2022 if Rubiales dedicated against the law of improper administration when the RFEF agreed with former Barcelona participant Gerard Pique’s Kosmos agency to maneuver the Spanish Tremendous Cup to Saudi Arabia, a judicial supply informed Reuters then.
Rubiales, who was within the Dominican Republic throughout final week’s searches, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and informed El Espanol newspaper he would cooperate with the investigation.
A courtroom supply stated his legal professionals informed the decide he would return from the Dominican Republic on April 6.