It was headline news around the world when former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales was convicted of sexual assault in February. However the prosecution in the case are filing for retrial against Rubiales, feeling the punishment and verdict did not fit the crime.
Rubiales was suspended by FIFA and the Spanish Government for three years after kissing Spain forward Jenni Hermoso without consent. After a lengthy trial process, in which Hermoso described it as ‘staining’ some of the best days of her life, Rubiales was found guilty of sexual assault. The prosecution had requested a sentence of 2.5 years in prison for Rubiales, one of which was for sexual assault, and 1.5 of which was for coercion, for which ex-marketing director Ruben Rivera, ex-sporting director Albert Luque and ex-manager Jorge Vilda also stood trial.
While the guilty verdict was applauded and described as a landmark moment in Spanish football and Spanish society, many also felt the sentence fell short of expectations. Rubiales, Rivera, Vilda and Luque were cleared of coercion charges, while the former was given a fine of just €10.8k for the sexual assault.
Now the prosecution have appealed the verdict against Rubiales, requesting an annulment of the sentence and in essence a retrial. In a 26-page document, they have submitted evidence they feel proves that Judge Jose Manuel Fernandez Prieto was not impartial in his work. Relevo explain that their appeal centres around Fernandez Prieto’s behaviour in the trial, the fact he stopped them asking questions, and crucially, that not all of the evidence against Rubiales was referenced in his verdict to clear him of coercion was referenced. They believe that it is ‘impossible’ that the coercion charges were dropped by the letter of the law.
Rubiales himself has stated that he ‘will keep fighting’, maintaining his innocence and reportedly looking to submit his own appeal. It seems the case is likely to drag on for some time yet as the appeals process grinds into motion.
