Luis Rubiales potential sentence unveiled in uncovered court documents from Jenni Hermoso case

Spanish prosecutors are set to argue that the former head of the country's football federation, Luis Rubiales, should be jailed for two-and-a-half years for kissing player Jenni Hermoso against her consent last August. The incident, which occurred after Spain won the Women's World Cup last summer, sparked controversy across the sport. Mr Rubiales faces charges of sexual assault and coercion for the kiss after Ms Hermoso and her teammates said the kiss was unwanted.

Mr Rubiales was forced to resign from his post in the fallout from the World Cup but denied any wrongdoing.

Reuters now claim to have seen court documents in which prosecutor Marta Durantez charges Mr Rubiales with one count of sexual assault and one count of coercion for the alleged actions last summer. The charges could carry prison sentences of one year and 18 months respectively.

Ms Durantez is also accuses three other people of 'coercing' Ms Hermoso into saying that the kiss was consensual through "constant and repeated acts of pressure". Those are former Spain Head Coach Jorge Vila, current Sporting Director Albert Luque and the federation's Head of Marketing Ruben Rivera. All three have denied wrongdoing when appearing before the court. If found guilty, those charges could carry a sentence of up to 18 months in jail.

Ms Durantez is also working to get the four men to pay damages of €100,000 to the footballer, with at least half of that amount coming from Mr Rubiales. The prosecutor is also requesting a formal restraining order to stop Mr Rubiales from coming within 200 metres of Ms Hermoso and from communicating with her for the next seven-and-a-half years.

Spain beat England in the Women's World Cup final on August 20, 2023, with a first-half Olga Carmona Garcia goal enough to separate the sides. It was the first time Spain had won the tournament.

In February, Ms Hermoso spoke out for the first time about what happened since the World Cup. She said: "A lot has happened since then. It has been a hard process, of understanding many things. I'm still playing football and the only thing I want is to continue enjoying myself wearing this shirt".