Former Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) chief Luis Rubiales will stand trial beginning on Monday for his unsolicited kiss of national team player Jenni Hermoso.
Rubiales faces one count of sexual assault and one of coercion for his alleged actions in the aftermath of the kiss.
The offences carry prison terms of one year and 18 months, respectively.
Rubiales, 47, has denied the charges.
Rubiales grabbed Hermoso and kissed her on the lips during the awards ceremony in 2023 after Spain‘s victory in the women’s World Cup in Sydney, making global headlines and causing a national debate in Spain about sexism.
Hermoso and her teammates said the kiss was unwanted and demeaning, but Rubiales argued it was consensual and denied any wrongdoing.
Alongside Rubiales, former women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda, former RFEF sporting director Albert Luque and the RFEF’s former head of marketing Rubén Rivera are also on trial for their suspected roles in pressuring Hermoso.
The prosecution is seeking 2 ½ years’ prison for Rubiales, although in Spain those handed sentences under two years can usually escape incarceration by paying damages instead if they do not have prior convictions.
Rubiales and his co-defendants will testify on or after Feb. 12 once the court has interviewed the rest of the witnesses.
After Spain beat England in Sydney on Aug. 20, 2023, Rubiales clutched his crotch in celebration on the final whistle while standing near Spain’s Queen Letizia and her daughter Princess Sofía.
Later, during the medal presentation, he lifted Hermoso off her feet then grabbed her by the head and appeared to pull her toward him to kiss her on the lips in front of a packed stadium and enormous global TV audience.
Hermoso’s first reaction was to tell teammates: “Hey, I didn’t like it,” according to locker room footage.
Prosecutors said she was pulled aside on the bus to the airport and asked to approve a statement in her name downplaying the incident, which she said she refused to do.
Vilda then approached Hermoso’s brother Rafael on the plane back to Madrid and warned him that his sister’s football career would suffer if she did not agree to record a video backing Rubiales’ claim the kiss was consensual, according to prosecutors.
Rubiales initially called his critics “idiots” before later apologising, saying the brief kiss was “without bad faith at a time of maximum effusiveness.” He has cast himself as a victim of a campaign by “false feminists.”
Controversy grew, with public protests and Rubiales’ mother going on hunger strike.
Hermoso’s teammates said they would not play again until Rubiales was removed as head of the RFEF.
After Rubiales was forced to step down, his replacement and right-hand man Pedro Rocha was suspended for “very serious misconduct.”
The Spanish Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear an appeal by Rafael Louzan, recently elected new football head, to determine if his malfeasance conviction, which bars him from holding public office for seven years, stands.
Rubiales and Rocha are under investigation for corruption in a separate case.
Rubiales lost his job after initially refusing to resign and in October 2023 was banned from all football-related activities for three years by world governing body FIFA.
Rubiales has called his daughters to testify while several of Hermoso’s Spanish teammates will also provide evidence.
Hermoso, Spain’s all-time top scorer who plays for Tigres UANL in Mexico, will take the stand on Monday.
