Spain’s Rubiales to face trial for kissing player at Women’s World Cup

MADRID —  Former Spanish soccer president Luis Rubiales must face trial for kissing forward Jenni Hermoso without her consent at the Women’s World Cup, an investigative judge said Thursday.

Judge Francisco de Jorge ruled that his investigation points to Rubiales’ kiss “being unconsented and carried out unilaterally and in a surprising fashion,” according to the court.

State prosecutors have accused Rubiales of sexual assault and of coercing Hermoso to publicly support him during the public backlash against him.

Despite initially claiming that he was the victim of a campaign led by “false feminists,” Rubiales eventually resigned from his post for his behavior during the World Cup awards ceremony in Sydney in August. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The judge also ruled that along with Rubiales, former Spain coach Jorge Vilda; Albert Luque, sports director of the Spanish men’s team; and the soccer federation’s former head of marketing should be tried for allegedly pressuring Hermoso to defend Rubiales, a step she refused to take.

The trial date will be determined.

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Hermoso, 33, testified before the investigative judge earlier this month. Spain’s all-time leading scorer, Hermoso plays in the Mexican league and has wide support in her home country. The scandal over the kiss has many hoping it will spur a reckoning with sexism in sports.

Based on a sexual consent law passed in 2022, Rubiales could face a fine or a prison sentence of one to four years if found guilty, according to the prosecutors’ office in Madrid. The new law eliminated the difference between “sexual harassment” and “sexual assault,” sanctioning any non-consensual sexual act.

FIFA banned Rubiales for three years until after the men’s 2026 World Cup. His ban will expire before the next women’s tournament in 2027. Spain’s sports authority also ruled him unfit to hold a post in sports management for three years.