Prosecutors demand Rubiales forced kiss trial be re-run

Prosecutors on Thursday requested that the trial of Spain’s ex-football federation chief Luis Rubiales for his forced kiss on Jenni Hermoso be annulled and re-run, notably questioning the judge’s impartiality.

Spain’s top criminal court last month found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for the kiss and fined him 10,800 euros ($11,670), sparing him jail in a sentence considered lenient by feminist groups.

The sentence fell well short of the demands of prosecutors, who had sought a total of two and a half years in prison for Rubiales, one year for sexual assault and 18 months for allegedly coercing Hermoso to downplay the kiss.

Hermoso is appealing the sentence, which also cleared Rubiales and three other defendants of coercion, including former women’s team coach Jorge Vilda and two senior ex-federation officials.

The prosecutors said in a statement that they were appealing the sentence and requested the trial be declared null and void and “held again by another judge not tainted, to say the least, by an appearance of bias”.

They said judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto “unduly” prevented the prosecutor in the trial, Marta Durantez, from posing certain questions and cited the “arbitrariness” of his sentence.

The statement added that the judge “made no mention in the sentence” of key evidence brought up during the trial, “as if such evidence had not existed”.

Fernandez-Prieto attracted attention during the trial for his brusque attitude, frequently interrupting and scolding participants.

‘Much to be done’

Rubiales was also banned from going within a 200-metre radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for a period of one year. He denied the charges and is also appealing the ruling.

It was not immediately clear when the courts would decide on the various appeals.

The former federation chief sparked worldwide uproar when he kissed Hermoso on the lips as she went up to receive her winner’s medal after Spain beat England in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final in Sydney.

The backlash unleashed by the kiss forced Rubiales to relinquish his post in disgrace that year, saw him banned from all football-related activity for three years and plunged the federation into a prolonged period of turmoil.

The trial captivated Spain and made Hermoso, the all-time top scorer of the national women’s team, an icon of the fight against sexism and macho culture in sport.

Hermoso said after the verdict that the trial would “create an important precedent in a social environment where there is still much to be done”.