analysis
Jenni Hermoso stood up to the powerful. Her court win sends a strong message
What became a defining moment in Spanish history rested in the hands of the court system and the opinion of one judge.
The high-profile sexual assault trial of Spain's former football boss Luis Rubiales galvanised the country's MeToo movement, which had long battled deeply ingrained sexism and misogyny in society.
It only came about because of a few seconds in time at the World Cup in Sydney.
When Rubiales grabbed the face of star player Jenni Hermoso and kissed her on the lips minutes after winning the sport's top prize he sparked global outrage.
Rubiales' kiss at the Women's World Cup prompted a reckoning within women's soccer in Spain. (Reuters: Bruna Casas)
What made this a moment for change was simply that the act was caught on camera and beamed to an entire stadium of fans and tens of millions of viewers globally.
He has consistently said he sought permission, but Jenni Hermoso insisted it was never sought and never given.
Following a two-week trial, Judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto has found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for kissing Ms Hermoso without consent.
He fined the former football boss 10,800 euros ($17,678), banned him from approaching Ms Hermoso within 200 metres and from communicating with her for one year.
"This action of giving a woman a kiss on the mouth has a clear sexual connotation, and it is not the normal way of greeting people with whom one does not have an emotional relationship," Judge José Manuel Clemente Fernández-Prieto said in his ruling on Thursday.
The prosecution had also accused Rubiales and three other federation officials of coercion for allegedly subjecting Ms Hermoso to an intense pressure campaign to declare the kiss was consensual.
Rubiales was acquitted of that charge, which he was facing alongside then coach Jorge Vilda and two other former federation directors.
Former Spanish soccer chief Luis Rubiales says he will appeal the verdict. (Reuters: Juan Medina)
That was always going to be the more difficult charge for the prosecution to prove because it largely had to rely on witness statements.
But for some, the fact that all four men lost their jobs in the wake of the scandal, will be enough of a message to those in positions of power.
Verdict to reverberate across Spain
The trial was the first high-profile test of Spain's tough new sexual assault laws, which now specifically address the issue of consent.
The legislation was prompted after a gang rape in 2016 led to mass protests when the five accused men were given a lesser charge because the victim didn't say no while being attacked.
The new law states that consent cannot be assumed by default or silence as it was previously.
A judge found Luis Rubiales sexually assaulted Jenni Hermoso for kissing her during the 2023 Women's World Cup final. (Reuters: Ana Beltran)
While the sentence is far short of what the prosecution was arguing for — jail time for all four men — the guilty verdict for the man at the top still sends a strong message to the powerful and society in general.
The kiss prompted a moment of reflection for a country that had long lived with a machismo culture, still somewhat shackled to the past days of the Franciso Franco dictatorship.
And the court system agreed, at least in part.
In the eyes of the #MeToo campaigners, the conviction of Rubiales on the sexual assault charge alone will likely still be considered a win.
Laia Codina is expressing optimism about what the case will mean for women's position in Spanish society. (Foreign Correspondent: Tyler Freeman Smith)
Days ahead of the verdict, an ABC investigation uncovered that Rubiales' kiss was just the tip of the iceberg, revealing a toxic culture of sexism and misogyny that extended to the highest levels of Spanish football.
"The court case … is a good moment to show everyone that Spain is not like this … it's going to be really important because it's going to mark our future as a country," World Cup-winning player Laia Codina told Foreign Correspondent.
"Obviously, I didn't want to experience this. But it happened and I think that it helped to change a little bit … and to have a better world for all of us", she said.
Abuse 'finally being taken seriously'
Instead of accepting it as an act of spontaneous celebration as Rubiales has described it, Jenni Hermoso chose to take on the powerful even in the face of legal threats from Spain's football federation.
Her story not only jolted Spain's protest movement into action, it also captivated a global audience and players around the world backed her in.
Even male footballers got on board.
"Abuse in women's football is finally being taken seriously and the world is watching", Joseph Carr, Senior Associate at UK-based personal injury firm Bolt Burdon Kemp told the ABC.
He said abuse in women's football isn't isolated to Spain and that this case set a precedent to give players around the world the power to speak up.
"This verdict will give confidence to female football players that they do not have to stay silent about abuse and there are avenues for accountability.
While the scandal overshadowed one of Spain's greatest sporting achievements — winning a World Cup — many who've fought to change the system for decades admit this was a moment to change history.