The Criminal Chamber of the National Court has upheld the sentence of 18 months of fine, with a daily quota of €20, against the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis R., for a crime of sexual assault over the non-consensual kiss given to player Jennifer H. during the medal ceremony at the 2023 World Cup held in Sydney (Australia) last August.

The court confirmed the penalty of 18 months of fine (€10,800), a one-year restraining order preventing him from approaching the victim, and €3,000 in compensation, dismissing the appeals lodged by both the defense and the Prosecutor’s Office as well as the private prosecution.

The defense argued that there was no sexual connotation and that the lack of consent was not proven, while the Prosecutor’s Office and the accusations requested a prison sentence, higher compensation, and conviction for coercion against Rubiales and three other RFEF executives. The court rejected these petitions and maintained the acquittal of the defendants for coercion, ruling that no criminally relevant pressure was proven.

The judgment underlines that a kiss without consent constitutes sexual assault even without lascivious intent but applies the mitigated subtype of the Criminal Code due to the lesser severity of the act, ruling out violence or abuse of institutional power.

In line with the confirmed judgment, the Court states that a kiss on the lips under those circumstances clearly carries a sexual connotation. The Chamber did not consider exculpatory the argument that such an outburst of uncontrollable joy was the result of collective euphoria at that moment, since this behavior only occurred with the team’s captain and not with the rest of the players or others present in the box. Furthermore, the court held that the kiss was not consensual and recalled that from the very first moment the player expressed her discomfort with what happened, as she confirmed herself in court, corroborated by her teammates.

In its ruling, the Court recalls the Supreme Court’s doctrine that “there is no right to kiss, nor the servitude of being kissed without consent,” adding that the behavior of Jennifer H. cannot be trivialized based on the statements she made in the immediate aftermath.

The Chamber upheld the trial court’s classification of the act as the mitigated subtype of sexual assault, stressing that this in no way minimizes or devalues the conduct, nor does it disrespect the complainant or other victims of sexual assaults.

The Chamber confirmed the acquittal on the charge of coercion and recalled that, in criminal acquittals, the ruling cannot be overturned unless grounds for nullity exist — which was not the case here.