Former Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales faces trial starting Monday, accused of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without consent, in a case that has ignited global discussions about sexism and consent in sports.
Hermoso, who now plays club football in Mexico, is expected to testify on the first day of the trial, which will continue until February 19.
The incident occurred as Spain’s women’s team celebrated their historic 2023 World Cup victory over England in Sydney. Rubiales grabbed Hermoso by the head and kissed her on the lips. Hermoso later stated that the kiss was not consensual, while Rubiales claimed otherwise.
The fallout sparked protests and widespread calls for Rubiales’s resignation, bringing the issue into the political spotlight. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned the kiss, emphasizing that it highlighted the ongoing struggle for equality and respect between men and women.
Initially defiant, Rubiales accused his critics of engaging in a “fake feminist” witch-hunt before eventually resigning. Legal charges soon followed.
Prosecutors are seeking a one-year prison sentence for sexual assault and an additional 18 months for coercion, alleging that Rubiales pressured Hermoso to publicly state the kiss was consensual. Rubiales has denied all charges.
Three others are also on trial: Jorge Vilda, coach of the World Cup-winning team, Rubén Rivera, the federation’s former head of marketing, and Albert Luque, former sporting director. They are accused of colluding in the alleged coercion and deny the charges.
Veteran footballer Isabel Fuentes, one of Spain’s first female players in the 1970s, expressed sadness over the controversy, noting how it overshadowed Spain’s World Cup triumph—a victory that brings her to tears when recalled.
“It was something we would have liked to experience, but we weren’t allowed to,” she says. “These players won it for us. They have lived out our dreams.”
Fuentes played when the dictatorship of Francisco Franco was still in place and the women’s team were not even allowed to wear the Spanish flag on their shirts.
“The regime said: ‘We don’t want you to play football, but we’ll just ignore you,'” she says. “And the federation put all manner of obstacles in our way.”
Like many fans, she was concerned by how the Rubiales controversy affected the international image of Spanish football and she was also shocked by footage showing the former federation president celebrating the World Cup win by grabbing his crotch as he stood just a few feet away from Spain’s Queen Letizia.
“When I was younger, girls playing football was kind of strange, you were told, ‘Oh, that’s for boys,’ or ‘That’s not a girl’s thing,'” she says. “And nowadays, you go to some places and you say, ‘I’m a footballer,’ and that’s so cool and attractive.”
Her teammate, Andrea Rodríguez, agrees. Although she says that occasionally she might hear sexist comments about women’s football, social attitudes are overwhelmingly positive.
“People are more open-minded now,” she says.