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Hello. A landmark case reached its conclusion yesterday as Luis Rubiales was found guilty of sexual assault. The ramifications are bigger than football.
Also on the way: The Champions League draw brings a Madrid derby and Liverpool vs PSG ties; a referee’s request for Messi’s shirt; Ally Sentnor’s sensational strike.
Guilty of sexual assault: Rubiales fined €10,000 for kissing Hermoso after World Cup final
(Oscar Del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
It was a kiss that shocked the world. Spain Women had just won their first World Cup and for Jenni Hermoso, it should have been the proudest moment of her career.
But as she went to collect her medal, then-president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales planted a kiss on her lips.
Hermoso said her life has ‘been on standby’ since that moment.
But, 550 days later, it was ruled in the Spanish High Court that this act was sexual assault. Rubiales avoided jail but was fined more than €10,000 ($11,400). He is banned from going within 200 metres of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year.
Rubiales, 47, and three other RFEF employees — the former Spain women’s coach Jorge Vilda; Albert Luque, the former sporting director; and former marketing director Ruben Rivera — were acquitted of the charge of coercion. It was alleged they had pressured Hermoso into supporting Rubiales’ version of what happened.
The reaction
Ana Redondo, Spain’s minister of equality, wrote on X: “Regardless of whether the prosecution appeals, the victim’s word is respected, as the law states, and should not be questioned.”
It comes after the ‘solo si es si’ (‘only yes means yes’) legislation came into force in Spain in 2022. It states sexual consent must be affirmed by acts that “clearly express the will of the person”; it cannot be assumed by default or through silence.
Despite the guilty verdict, the Federation of Progressive Women, a non-profit organisation advocating for gender equality in Spain, was left ‘deeply disappointed’ by the sentence given prosecutors had wanted a two-and-half-year jail term.
It was a sentiment echoed by FIFPro, the worldwide representative organisation for professional footballers, which said the ruling proves Rubiales’ behaviour was ‘unacceptable’, adding: “The level of punishment by the courts must send a stronger message that addresses the gross imbalance of power and hierarchy present in such circumstances.”
‘Trial taught us many things’
My colleague Laia Cervello Herrero has followed events at every juncture, including the trial. I asked her for her thoughts…
This a trial that has taught us many things.
It has brought another type of victim to the fore: one who is capable of smiling and celebrating a World Cup despite the fact they have just ruined the best day of her life.
Also, sometimes the most important thing is not how much the aggressor is going to pay or whether or not he is going to prison. Sometimes a victim of sexual assault just wants someone to say, ‘I believe you’.
You can read her powerful reflections here.
News round-up
- The Champions League draw for the last 16 was fun. Liverpool’s reward for finishing top of the league table? Paris Saint-Germain. Real Madrid’s prize for beating Manchester City? Atletico Madrid. In the Europa League last 16, Manchester United will face Real Sociedad and Tottenham must beat AZ. Live reaction — and routes to the final — are in our blog.
- In remarkable scenes on Wednesday, referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava asked for Lionel Messi’s shirt after Inter Miami’s win over Sporting Kansas City in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. He has since been disciplined. Too right.
- Liverpool may have to play their next couple of fixtures without manager Arne Slot. He is facing a touchline ban after accepting a Football Association charge following his Merseyside derby red card.
- The fallout from Milan’s Champions League exit this week has been messy, but USMNT’s Christian Pulisic has denied a rift with head coach Sergio Conceicao. “Unacceptable lies,” he said.
- Leaked footage from a meeting among the owners of Ligue 1 have revealed the disharmony in the French game. PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi called John Textor, the owner of Lyon, a “cowboy”. More will follow, I’m sure. Giddy up.
- Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Callan Hamill from Scottish side St Johnstone. The 15-year-old, who can play in defence or midfield, turned down moves to Rangers and Celtic to head south.
Out in the cold: Greenland at centre of political power play but sees CONCACAF future
Greenland has been thrust into geopolitical significance recently due to U.S. president Donald Trump’s ongoing proposal to purchase the semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
But those who live in the area just want to play football — officially, anyway. The national team are not recognised by FIFA, the world’s governing body, but their football association (or KAK, an acronym in the native language) is working tirelessly to join CONCACAF, the confederation of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
After months of unanswered calls, CONCACAF is now engaging and a meeting is scheduled for April. The outcome will have huge ramifications on the pitch and perhaps politically, too.
“Our biggest goal is for us to be recognised as a football nation,” KAK chairman Kenneth Kleist told Felipe Cardenas. “Nobody knows about us in the football world. Political independence, I don’t want to talk about it, but football-wise, we want to be independent.”
Around TAFC
🎙️ The Total Soccer Show, available on Apple and Spotify, has also recorded a team-by-team preview and, new for this season, is The Athletic’s MLS WhatsApp channel, where you can get the latest updates and exclusive messages from your favourite MLS writers.
Quiz question
Name the eight players to have scored the most overall goals in the Champions League knockout stage from the 2015-16 season onwards?
As ever, the answer will be here and in Monday’s TAFC.
Catch a match
(Selected games, times ET/UK)
Friday: Serie A: Lecce vs Udinese, 2.45pm/7.45pm — Paramount+/OneFootball; Premier League: Leicester City vs Brentford, 3pm/8pm — USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports; La Liga: Celta Vigo vs Osasuna, 3pm/8pm — ESPN+, Fubo/Premier Sports.
Saturday: Premier League — Everton vs Manchester United, 7.30am/12.30pm — USA Network, Fubo/TNT Sports; Aston Villa vs Chelsea, 12.30pm/5.30pm — NBC, Fubo/Sky Sports; Serie A: Torino vs Milan, 12pm/5pm — Paramount+, Fubo/OneFootball; Inter vs Genoa, 2.45pm/7.45pm — CBS Sports, Paramount+, Fubo/TNT Sports/OneFootball; MLS — Inter Miami vs New York City, 7.30pm/12.30am — Apple TV.
Sunday: Serie A: Cagliari vs Juventus, 2.45pm/7.45pm — CBS Sports, Paramount+/TNT Sports/OneFootball; Premier League: Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest, 9.30am/2.30pm — USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports; Manchester City vs Liverpool, 11.30am/4.30pm — Peacock/Sky Sports; La Liga: Real Madrid vs Girona, 10.15am/3.15pm — ESPN+, Fubo/Premier Sports; Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt, 11.30am/4.30pm — ESPN+/Sky Sports.
And finally…
Everyone, meet Ally Sentnor. Not only has she burst onto the USWNT scene, she almost burst the net with her piledriver in their SheBelieves Cup opener, a 2-0 win over Colombia, last night.
Everything about this was textbook: the scanning before receiving between the lines, the skip away from the defender, the swerving, looping strike that bamboozled goalkeeper Katherine Tapia, who could do nothing but sink slowly backwards to the ground.
Not a bad way to mark your first start for your country.
(Top photo: Oscar Del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
