Former Spanish football chief Rubiales fined over non-consensual kiss

Spain's high court has found former football federation president Luis Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso without her consent, and fined him more than 10,000 euros (about $10,434), in a case which caused a nationwide furor.

The court acquitted him of a charge of coercion on Thursday, in a ruling seen by Reuters. Rubiales told the news agency he would appeal, saying: "I am going to keep fighting."

Hermoso's lawyer, Angel Chavarria, told Reuters the player will also appeal, without providing further details.

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 society at large, and gave momentum to a wider "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 historic victory in the tournament.

Rubiales, who is also the target of a separate corruption investigation into commissions paid over a lucrative deal to stage the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, maintained throughout this month's trial that Hermoso had consented to be kissed amid the celebrations.

But Judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto said he believed Hermoso's testimony that she had not. He found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault, but said that while the offense was "always reproachable," this instance was of minor intensity as there was no violence or intimidation.

Since the incident involved a kiss rather than a more serious action, Rubiales should be spared time in prison, Fernandez-Prieto added.

"The pecuniary penalty must be chosen, which is less serious than the custodial sentence," he said in his ruling.

The decision banned Rubiales from going within 200 meters (218 yards) of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year. He will also have to pay Hermoso 3,000 euros (about $3,151) as compensation. The fine was set at 20 euros (about $21) per day over an 18-month period.