Luis Luviales, former president of the Spanish Football Federation, has lost his appeal for his sexual assault conviction.
Rubiales was fined 10,800 euros (£9,206) in February for kissing Captain Jenny Elmoso without her consent after the Spanish women’s team won the 2023 World Cup.
The Spanish court of appeals upheld the fines and also dismissed individual appeals from prosecutors who pushed prison sentences for a retrial.
The incident – Luviareth grabbed Hermoso’s head and kissed her on the lips – sparked a protest and called for his resignation.
He denied the charges of sexual assault, describing the kiss as “an act of affection” and “completely voluntary.”
On Wednesday, Adencia Nacional said he didn’t think Kiss had agreed, and that Hermoso had opposed it from the start.
Rubial found himself “suppressed himself” when interacting with other players, and “we were able to do so with the captain without much effort.”
At the original trial, Hermoso said he had not given permission to kiss.
The court upheld the ruling that was taken over in February. This included the ban on Rubiales, within a 200m radius of Hermoso, including communicating with her for a year.
The court also upheld the decision not to convict Luviareth of coercion.
Prosecutors allegedly put pressure on Hermoso as he publicly said that Kiss had agreed.
Three other former Spanish Football Federation employees — coach Jorge Villa, marketing executive Ruben Rivera and sports director Albert Luk — were previously exempt from enforcement. This is a decision supported on Wednesday.
