MADRID: Prosecutors on Thursday requested that the trial of Spain's ex-football federation chief Luis Rubiales for his forced kiss on Jenni Hermoso be annulled and re-run, notably questioning the judge's impartiality.
Spain's top criminal court last month found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for the kiss and fined him 10,800 euros ($11,670), sparing him jail in a sentence considered lenient by feminist groups.
The sentence fell well short of the demands of prosecutors, who had sought a total of two and a half years in prison for Rubiales, one year for sexual assault and 18 months for allegedly coercing Hermoso to downplay the kiss.
Hermoso is appealing the sentence, which also cleared Rubiales and three other defendants of coercion, including former women's team coach Jorge Vilda and two senior ex-federation officials.
The prosecutors said in a statement that they were appealing the sentence and requested the trial be declared null and void and "held again by another judge not tainted, to say the least, by an appearance of bias".
They said judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto "unduly" prevented the prosecutor in the trial, Marta Durantez, from posing certain questions and cited the "arbitrariness" of his sentence.
The statement added that the judge "made no mention in the sentence" of key evidence brought up during the trial, "as if such evidence had not existed".
Fernandez-Prieto attracted attention during the trial for his brusque attitude, frequently interrupting and scolding participants.
Rubiales was also banned from going within a 200-metre radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for a period of one year. He denied the charges and is also appealing the ruling.
It was not immediately clear when the courts would decide on the various appeals.
The former federation chief sparked worldwide uproar when he kissed Hermoso on the lips as she went up to receive her winner's medal after Spain beat England in the 2023 Women's World Cup final in Sydney.
The backlash unleashed by the kiss forced Rubiales to relinquish his post in disgrace that year, saw him banned from all football-related activity for three years and plunged the federation into a prolonged period of turmoil.
The trial captivated Spain and made Hermoso, the all-time top scorer of the national women's team, an icon of the fight against sexism and macho culture in sport.
Hermoso said after the verdict that the trial would "create an important precedent in a social environment where there is still much to be done".

PARIS:  Liverpool boss Arne Slot admitted his team had been extremely fortunate in their 1-0 win away to Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League last 16 first leg on Wednesday as he heaped praise on goal-scoring hero Harvey Elliott.

“If we had a draw over here we would have already been the lucky one. That is clear for everyone,” Slot accepted after his side withstood a pummelling from the hosts in Paris.

PSG dominated the first leg of the heavyweight last-16 tie, but Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker was in inspired form and the visitors snatched an unlikely victory to take back to Anfield for the return as substitute Elliott scored in the 87th minute.

“They were the much better team today, especially in the first half,” Slot said of PSG, who had a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia goal disallowed for a tight offside in the 20th minute and had 28 attempts in total.

“They had three or four open chances in the first half, and it was almost a miracle that it was 0-0 then.

“But we were already in the game three, four or five times, I felt like we could hurt them in transitions, but we didn’t, but we waited until the last moment and then we hurt them.”

Elliott, 21, was sent on for Mohamed Salah late on after the Egyptian had failed to make any impact on proceedings. He then scored with his first touch after being set up by Darwin Nunez.

“It was a big moment for him. I can understand that he is sometimes frustrated about the playing time he gets,” Slot said of Elliott, who has nevertheless now scored in three straight Champions League games.

“He has to do it with limited playing time but he just keeps on going. I have to give him big compliments for that.

“It wasn’t only Harvey but also the one who assisted him, Darwin Nunez, who came from a difficult two games, but was absolutely there again tonight because from the moment he came on we were more of a threat than before.”

Before Elliott’s remarkable strike, Liverpool looked set to finish a game without scoring for just the fourth time all season after they were pushed back by their opponents all evening.

“We were not under-par, it was purely the quality of Paris Saint-Germain and the way they have played this whole season,” the Liverpool coach added.

“Luis Enrique made an incredible team here. It was an unbelievable challenge for us to get away with a result and we know it will be a hard one in a week.”

Slot’s opposite number admitted the result was a sore one to take as PSG’s run of 10 straight wins in all competitions was brought to a halt.

“We were far superior to Liverpool in terms of how we played, and chances created,” Luis Enrique said.

“Against the best team in their league and in Europe, we put in a complete performance, defended well, took risks, and clearly deserved another result, but that is football.

“It is often unfair and we just have to accept it.”

Asked if he still believed his team could reach the quarter-finals going into next Tuesday’s return leg, he added: “Without any doubt. We are a team with absolutely nothing to lose.

“Today we deserved much more. Their best player was the goalkeeper, which indicates how the game went.”