Spain prosecutor requests retrial of ex- Rubiales over Hermoso kiss

A Spanish prosecutor has asked for a retrial after the High Court sentence convicting the former head of the country’s football federation, Luis Rubiales, for kissing national team player Jenni Hermoso without her consent, the prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.

Last month, the court found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault and fined him over 10,000 euros in a case that sparked a nationwide furore.

The ruling also acquitted him and three co-defendants of a charge of coercion. The prosecution had sought 2-1/2 years’ prison for the former soccer federation chief.

In the appeal seen by Reuters, prosecutor Marta Durantez requested the trial be repeated, arguing that evidence and many of her questions were not admitted.

She said the ruling generated “a constitutionally relevant material defencelessness, which affects the right to effective judicial protection” and asked for a different judge to retry the case.

“The judge’s conduct throughout the hearing compromised, in our opinion, at the very least the appearance of impartiality,” she wrote.

Given that the judge ruled there had been sexual assault, Rubiales should have been sentenced to a year in prison, Durantez added – the penalty she had requested for that charge.

She also said the fine and the additional 3,000 euros in compensation awarded to Hermoso were very low.

“This fine, taking into account the circumstances of the case, is offensive to the victim and to the victims of sexual assault. Undoubtedly a bad precedent,” Durantez said.

Rubiales and Hermoso have said they will appeal the ruling.

The kiss at the 2023 World Cup awards ceremony in Sydney provoked a heated debate in Spain about sexism in women’s football and wider Spanish society, prompting a movement similar to the “Me Too” campaign on social media.

The ensuing scandal overshadowed Spain’s victory in the tournament.