Rubiales guilty of kissing Spanish player without consent, fined €10,000

Spain's High Court has found the country's former football federation president Luis Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent, following the 2023 World Cup Final, and fined him €10,000.

The court acquitted Rubiales of coercion.

Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence in a case that sparked a debate in Spain about sexism in women's football and wider Spanish society.

"The ruling bans Rubiales from going within a 200-metre radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year," the court said in a statement.

He was charged with sexual assault for kissing Ms Hermoso on the mouth.

Rubiales, 47, was also accused of attempting to coerce her into saying the kiss, at the 2023 World Cup awards ceremony in Sydney, was consensual. He denied wrongdoing.

The court said that it had acquitted three co-defendants of coercion.

Video footage showed Rubiales clasping Ms Hermoso's head on 20 August 2023 and kissing her on the lips before letting her go with two slaps on the back.

The controversy overshadowed Spain's victory in the tournament and forced him to resign from his position.