Alex Trelinski
FOOTBALLER Jenni Hermoso will appeal a fine and restraining order given to former Spanish football federation president, Luis Rubiales, over his controversial kiss after the 2023 World Cup final.
Hermoso’s lawyer, Angel Chavarria, said Thursday’s sentence for the sexual assault will be appealed because the player views it as too lenient and also will seek to overturn a ‘not guilty’ verdict concerning coercion.
Rubiales was fined €10,800 on Thursday and ordered not to approach Hermoso within 200 metres and was banned from contacting her for a year.
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He was also ordered to pay her €3,000 in compensation and cover half of the legal costs.
Prosecutors wanted Rubiales jailed for up to two-and-a-half years for the assault and coercion.
He was acquitted- along with three former Spanish football officials- of coercing Hermoso to backtrack on her allegations.
The judge cleared Rubiales on the coercion count on the grounds that what he did later within the football federation to minimise the negative impact of the kiss did not include the elements of ‘violence’ and ‘intimidation’ as required by the Penal Code.
The others who faced coercion charges were the former director of the Spanish national team Albert Luque, the former women’s coach Jorge Vilda and the former head of Marketing of the federation, Ruben Rivera.
The Prosecutor’s Office is also considering launching appeals, once they have studied the judge’s ruling in detail.
Meanwhile, Luis Rubiales, said on Thursday that he’ll be appealing against the sexual assault conviction, meaning that the ‘kiss’ saga is far from over.
