Ex-Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales saw an appeal against his sexual assault conviction dismissed last month, two years after he kissed Spain captain Jenni Hermoso without consent
Luis Rubiales, the disgraced ex-president of Spain’s football federation (RFEF), is nearly two years into his three-year ban from football. The 47-year-old saw an appeal over this ban dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in February, and last month, had his sexual assault conviction upheld.
A moment of celebration for Spain in 2023, when they defeated England 1-0 in the Women’s World Cup final, quickly developed serious undertones via Rubiales’ post-match behaviour.
Rubiales was criticised for a series of incidents, including carrying a player over his shoulder, giving a peck on the cheek to another, and kissing the captain of the side, Hermoso, during the medal ceremony. Such acts triggered a series of protests and calls for his resignation, which ultimately came in September of 2023.
The matter involving Hermoso was taken to court, and while Rubiales has always claimed that the kiss was consensual, he was convicted of sexual assault on February 20, 2025, and ordered to pay a fine of £9,300. He was also ordered to stay at least 200m away from Hermoso and cease contact with her for one year.
While Rubiales appealed this decision and the ban FIFA handed him in October 2023, both were upheld. We examine Rubiales’ case in detail, including what the 47-year-old is up to now and why former captain Hermoso did not make this year’s Euro 2025 Spanish squad.
Where is Luis Rubiales now?
In the wake of his actions, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee banned Rubiales from all football-related activities for three years in October 2023, one month after his RFEF resignation.
He was provisionally suspended for an initial 90 days after the events that occurred after the World Cup final. This ban was appealed and considered by FIFA’s appeal committee, but it was upheld. The case went before CAS this year and was dismissed again.
This means that Rubiales’ ban will last until October 2026, and he has served almost two years of it, with 14 months remaining. He has stayed silent since the appeal over his sexual assault conviction was dismissed by a Spanish court in June.
Luis Rubiales’ mother’s hunger strike
In August 2023, Rubiales’ mother, Angeles Bejar, started a hunger strike in support of her child, in light of the backlash and calls for his resignation.
Bejar had locked herself in a church in her hometown of Motril in southern Spain to protest how her son was being treated, and stayed in the building from Monday until Wednesday, when she was taken to a local hospital, according to a local priest.
She was later discharged that evening after Rubiales visited her and departed the hospital at 11:30pm local time. Bejar told reporters before the strike that she would continue “indefinitely, day and night” amid an “inhuman and bloody hunt” for her son.
Prosecutors’ calls for Luis Rubiales to receive prison time
Rubiales was not the only one to appeal his conviction, which saw him found guilty of sexual assault but not guilty of coercion, with it being alleged that he coerced Hermoso to downplay the post-final kiss.
Prosecutors requested a retrial of the High Court sentencing in March, claiming that Rubiales deserved to be jailed and the initial judge was biased in his favour.
They had demanded that Rubiales face two and a half years in prison, 12 months for sexual assault, and 18 months for alleged coercion. This was dismissed.
Where is Jenni Hermoso now?
Having played for Mexican side Pachuca during the incident in 2023, Hermoso later signed with Tigres UANL in 2024 and remains with the club.
With Euro 2025 in full swing, record goalscorer Hermoso was not selected by Spain coach Montse Tome, who said that her absence was down to competition for places.
“We have assessed her performances for Tigres and spoken with her coach, but in her position, we have Patri [Guijarro], Aitana [Bonmati], Alexia [Putellas], Maite [Zubieta], Vicky [Lopez] and even Mariona [Caldentey] or [Claudia] Pina can come in there,” said Tome.
“It’s hard to pick 23 players, but we do the job professionally and at the end of the day, that is what we have chosen. I spoke with her at the beginning of the year about her situation and we have done the same work with her as with everyone else.”
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