スペイン連盟前会長に罰金刑の有罪判決 エルモソへのキス強要で

【マドリードＡＦＰ＝時事】スペインの高等裁判所は２０日、同国サッカー連盟（ＲＦＥＦ）のルイス・ルビアレス前会長（４７）に対し、女子代表のＭＦヘニフェル・エルモソ（３４）へキスを強要した性的暴行の罪で罰金刑の有罪判決を下した一方で、同選手へ圧力をかけた脅迫については無罪を言い渡した。（写真はマドリードの裁判所を後にするスペインサッカー連盟前会長のルイス・ルビアレス氏）
　検察はルビアレス氏に対し、性的暴行の罪で１年、事件を大ごとにしないようエルモソに圧力をかけた脅迫の罪で１年６か月、合計禁錮２年半を求刑していた。
　ルビアレス氏はキスによる性的暴行については有罪と判断され、１万８００ユーロ（約１７０万円）の罰金を科されたが、収監は免れた。また、エルモソに２００メートル以内に接近すること、および１年間連絡を取ることを禁止された。
　ルビアレス氏の弁護人は、同氏が「判決に控訴することを決めた」とＡＦＰの取材で述べた。
　スペインサッカー界を揺るがしたこのスキャンダルでは、２０２３年の女子Ｗ杯オーストラリア大会でスペインが優勝した後、メダル授与式で当時連盟のトップを務めていたルビアレス氏がエルモソの頭を抱えて唇にキスをし、その後背中を２回たたいてから同選手を解放する様子が映像で確認されている。
　このキス強要は世界中で激しい怒りを引き起こし、ルビアレス氏を不名誉な辞任に追い込むと同時に、スポーツ界における男性優位の文化と性差別の横行に焦点が当たった。
　２月３日の公判初日、エルモソは同意のないキスで「軽視された」と感じたと述べ、「いかなる社会的または職場環境でも起こってはならない」と訴えた。
　しかしルビアレス氏は、世界中に中継されていた表彰式でエルモソが優勝メダルを受け取る際、キスに同意したことは「絶対に間違いない」と述べ、同選手へ後日圧力をかけたことを否定。自身が「間違いを犯した」ことや「公的な人間としての役割を果たすべきだった」ことを認めながらも、犯罪は犯していないと主張していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/02/21-18:37）

A Spanish court on Thursday found former football chief Luis Rubiales guilty of sexual assault over the forced kiss he gave star forward Jenni Hermoso and fined him, but acquitted him of the charge of coercion.
Prosecutors had sought a prison term of two-and-a-half years for Rubiales -- one year for sexual assault and 18 months for coercion for having allegedly pressured the player to downplay the incident afterwards.
Judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto at Spain's High Court found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault over the kiss and fined him 10,800 euros ($11,300), but spared him a prison sentence.
Rubiales was also banned from going within a 200-metre radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for a period of one year.
Kissing a woman on the mouth is not the normal way of greeting people with whom one has no sentimental relationship, the judge wrote in his ruling, saying Rubiales had violated Hermoso's sexual freedom without her consent.
Rubiales' lawyer Olga Tubau Martinez told AFP her client has decided to appeal the ruling.
Video footage of the scandal that rocked Spanish football shows then-Spanish federation chief Rubiales clasping Hermoso's head at the 2023 Women's World Cup medal ceremony in Sydney and kissing her on the lips before letting her go with two slaps on the back.
The global outcry over the kiss forced Rubiales to resign in disgrace and thrust the spotlight on the prevalence of macho culture and sexism in sport.
Hermoso, 34, said on the opening day of the trial on February 3 she felt disrespected after a non-consensual kiss that should not happen in any social or work setting.
Her teammates described under oath how she cried and felt overwhelmed following the incident, while her brother Rafael Hermoso said she came under pressure to downplay the affair to protect the federation chief.
But Rubiales, 47, told the court he was totally sure Hermoso consented to the kiss as she went up to receive her winner's medal, which was broadcast live around the world, and denied putting pressure on her after the incident.
She squeezed me very tightly under my armpits, she lifted me, and when I came down I asked her if I can give you a kiss, and she said 'OK'. That's what happened, he said, describing it as an act of affection.
Rubiales conceded he made a mistake in the incident on the podium, saying he should have been in a more institutional role, but denied he had committed any offence.
- 'Entitled to celebrate' -
Rubiales' defence team had argued that video images of Hermoso celebrating and drinking champagne with her teammates in the changing room shortly after the incident prove the player was not upset by the kiss, she added.
But prosecutor Marta Durantez Gil rejected this line of thought during her closing arguments in which she also said there was no doubt the kiss was non-consensual.
How long are we going to keep demanding heroic behaviour from the victim of a sexual assault? Wasn't she entitled to celebrate such a sporting triumph? she asked.
The court acquitted the three other accused in the case, ex-women's national team coach Jorge Vilda and two former federation officials, of the charge of coercion.
- 'Fake feminism' -
Equality Minister Ana Redondo welcomed the verdict, saying it demonstrated that when there is no consent, there is aggression.
Rubiales' stance on the stand contrasted with the defiance he displayed when the scandal broke.
During an emergency federation meeting in August 2023, he played down the importance of the kiss and rebuffed calls for his resignation, railing against false feminism.
Rubiales resigned in September that year after football's global governing body FIFA suspended him and Spanish prosecutors opened an investigation into alleged sexual assault. He had been federation chief since 2018.
Hermoso, the all-time top scorer for the Spain national women's team who now plays for Mexican club Tigres, was not called up to the squad immediately after the World Cup.
New coach Montse Tome explained she wanted to protect the player and denied omitting her from the squad was a punishment.