A judge with Spain’s National Court recommended on Thursday that the country’s onetime soccer boss, Luis Rubiales, be tried on a sexual assault charge over his non-consensual kiss of a star player during the Women’s World Cup medal ceremony in Sydney, Australia, last summer.
If found guilty of sexual assault in the case, which upended Spanish women’s soccer and set off a debate about the legacy of sexism in the sport in Spain, Mr. Rubiales would face a prison sentence of one to four years.
The judge also recommended that Mr. Rubiales and three officials with the Royal Spanish Football Federation, soccer’s governing body in the country — including Jorge Vilda, who was fired as the women’s team coach in the wake of the incident — be tried on charges of coercion for exerting pressure on the player, Jennifer Hermoso, to show support for Mr. Rubiales in the immediate aftermath of the kiss.
The judge concluded that the kiss by Mr. Rubiales “was non-consensual and was a unilateral and surprise act.”
Persons:
Luis Rubiales, Rubiales, Jorge Vilda, Jennifer Hermoso, Rubiales “, ”
Organizations:
National, Royal Spanish Football Federation
Locations:
Sydney, Australia, Spain