On
Thursday, Prosecutors had sought a prison term of two-and-a-half years
for Rubiales- one year for sexual assault and 18 months for coercion for
having allegedly pressured the player to downplay the incident
afterwards.
Judge
Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto at Spain's High Court found Rubiales
guilty of sexual assault over the kiss and fined him 10,800 euros
($11,300), but spared him a prison sentence.
Rubiales
was also banned from going within a 200-metre radius of Hermoso and
from communicating with her for a period of one year.
Kissing
a woman on the mouth "is not the normal way of greeting people with
whom one has no sentimental relationship," the judge wrote in his
ruling, saying Rubiales had violated Hermoso's "sexual freedom" without
her consent.
Rubiales' lawyer Olga Tubau Martinez said that her client "has decided to appeal the ruling".
Video
footage of the scandal that rocked Spanish football shows then-Spanish
federation chief Rubiales clasping Hermoso's head at the 2023 Women's
World Cup medal ceremony in Sydney and kissing her on the lips before
letting her go with two slaps on the back.
The
global outcry over the kiss forced Rubiales to resign in disgrace and
thrust the spotlight on the prevalence of macho culture and sexism in
sport.
Hermoso,
said that on the opening day of the trial on February 3 she felt
"disrespected" after a non-consensual kiss that "should not happen in
any social or work setting".
Her
teammates described under oath how she cried and felt "overwhelmed"
following the incident, while her brother Rafael Hermoso said that she
came under pressure to downplay the affair to protect the federation
chief.
But
Rubiales, told the court he was "totally sure" Hermoso consented to the
kiss as she went up to receive her winner's medal, which was broadcast
live around the world, and denied putting pressure on her after the
incident.
"She
squeezed me very tightly under my armpits, she lifted me, and when I
came down I asked her if I can give you a kiss, and she said 'OK'.
That's what happened," he said, describing it as "an act of affection".
Rubiales
conceded he "made a mistake" in the incident on the podium, saying he
should have "been in a more institutional role", but denied he had
committed any offence.
'Entitled to celebrate'
Rubiales' defence team had argued that video images of Hermoso
celebrating and drinking champagne with her teammates in the changing
room shortly after the incident prove the player was not upset by the
kiss, she added.
But
prosecutor Marta Durantez Gil rejected this line of thought during her
closing arguments in which she also said there was "no doubt" the kiss
was "non-consensual".
"How
long are we going to keep demanding heroic behaviour from the victim of
a sexual assault? Wasn't she entitled to celebrate such a sporting
triumph?" she asked.
The
court acquitted the three other accused in the case, ex-women's
national team coach Jorge Vilda and two former federation officials, of
the charge of coercion.
'Fake feminism'
Equality Minister Ana Redondo welcomed the verdict, saying it demonstrated that "when there is no consent, there is aggression".
Rubiales' stance on the stand contrasted with the defiance he displayed when the scandal broke.
During
an emergency federation meeting in August 2023, he played down the
importance of the kiss and rebuffed calls for his resignation, railing
against "false feminism".
Rubiales
resigned in September that year after football's global governing body
FIFA suspended him and Spanish prosecutors opened an investigation into
alleged sexual assault. He had been federation chief since 2018.
Hermoso,
the all-time top scorer for the Spain national women's team who now
plays for Mexican club Tigres, was not called up to the squad
immediately after the World Cup.
New coach Montse Tome explained she wanted to protect the player and denied omitting her from the squad was a "punishment".