Spain’s Excessive Court docket on Wednesday upheld a verdict that discovered former soccer federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales responsible of sexual assault for an unsolicited kiss on the lips of nationwide crew participant Jenni Hermoso on the 2023 World Cup in Sydney.
The court docket rejected a number of appeals towards the conviction, reaffirming Rubiales kissed Hermoso with out her consent throughout the medal ceremony after Spain’s girls had gained the trophy, in keeping with the ruling seen by Reuters.
Rubiales was fined over €10,000 ($11,592) and acquitted of coercion expenses alongside three co-defendants. Prosecutors had sought a 2½-year jail sentence and referred to as for a retrial, each of which had been dismissed.
The incident sparked widespread debate about sexism in Spanish society and girls’s soccer, fueling momentum for the “Me Too” motion within the nation.
Rubiales argued that his actions had been motivated by an uncontrollable pleasure, however the court docket dominated that his restraint with different gamers and attendees demonstrated he might have prevented such conduct with Hermoso.
“Since that emotion didn’t lead him to specific his pleasure so effusively by kissing the opposite gamers or the accompanying individuals within the field, and he restrained himself, he might even have finished so, with out an excessive amount of effort, with the captain of the crew,” the court docket mentioned.