- Former Spanish FA president faces sexual assault and coercion charges over non-consensual kiss on Jenni Hermoso.
- Case sparks wider debates on sexism, consent, and gender equality in football.
- Trial could reshape Spain’s football culture and set a precedent for misconduct in sports.
The former president of Spain’s football federation, Luis Rubiales, is set to stand trial on Monday, facing charges of sexual assault for forcibly kissing player Jenni Hermoso during Spain’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup celebrations.
The case has ignited broader discussions on sexism, consent, and gender equality in sports.
Hermoso, who currently plays club football in Mexico, is scheduled to testify as a witness on the opening day of the trial. Proceedings are expected to run until February 19.
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The controversy dates back to August 20, 2023, when Spain’s players were receiving their medals after their historic World Cup victory over England in Sydney. In a moment that stunned viewers worldwide, Rubiales grabbed Hermoso by the head and kissed her on the lips. While Rubiales insisted the kiss was consensual, Hermoso later stated publicly that it was not.
The incident sparked widespread outrage, fueling protests and demands for Rubiales’s resignation. The scandal also became a political flashpoint, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemning Rubiales’s actions as evidence that “there is still a long way to go when it comes to equality and respect between women and men.” His left-wing government has previously enacted legal reforms aimed at strengthening gender equality and reinforcing consent in sexual relations.
Initially defiant, Rubiales dismissed the backlash as a “witch-hunt” driven by “fake feminism.” However, mounting pressure eventually forced him to step down from his position before legal proceedings were initiated against him.
Prosecutors are seeking a one-year prison sentence for Rubiales on sexual assault charges related to the non-consensual kiss.
They are pushing for a one-and-a-half-year sentence for coercion, accusing him of pressuring Hermoso into publicly stating that the kiss was mutual. Rubiales has denied all charges.
Three of his former colleagues—Jorge Vilda, the head coach of the victorious World Cup squad; Rubén Rivera, the federation’s former head of marketing; and Albert Luque, the ex-sporting director—are also standing trial. They are accused of collaborating in the alleged coercion of Hermoso and have denied any wrongdoing.
For figures like Isabel Fuentes, a pioneer of women’s football in Spain who played for the national team in the early 1970s, the Rubiales scandal is a painful chapter in the sport’s history. She describes the controversy as “deeply saddening” because it overshadowed Spain’s momentous World Cup victory—a triumph that, to this day, brings her to the brink of tears.
“It was a dream we never got to experience,” Fuentes says, recalling how women’s football in Spain was stifled under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. “These players won it for us. They lived out the dreams we were denied.”
During Franco’s regime, Spain’s female footballers were not even permitted to wear the national flag on their kits. The authorities, she recalls, adopted a policy of silent resistance: “They told us, ‘We don’t want you to play football, but we’ll pretend you don’t exist.’ The federation, meanwhile, placed countless obstacles in our way.”
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Like many fans, Fuentes was disturbed by how the scandal tarnished Spain’s global footballing reputation. She was also shocked by footage of Rubiales celebrating the World Cup victory by grabbing his crotch while standing just a few feet away from Queen Letizia and her teenage daughter, Princess Sofía.
Younger players, like Belén Peralta, prefer to focus on the progress women’s football has made rather than linger on the Rubiales controversy. Peralta, who plays for third-division club Olimpia Las Rozas, has witnessed a noticeable shift in the sport’s visibility and support even in recent years.
“When I was younger, seeing girls play football was unusual. People would say, ‘That’s for boys’ or ‘That’s not a girl’s sport,'” she recalls. “But now, you can say, ‘I’m a footballer,’ and it’s seen as something cool and exciting.”
Her teammate, Andrea Rodríguez, shares the sentiment. While she acknowledges that sexist remarks about women’s football still exist, she believes that social attitudes have largely evolved.
“People are much more open-minded now,” she says.
