Ex Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales barred from approaching player he kissed

The former head of Spanish football has been barred from going with 200 metres of the player who he controversially kissed after the country’s World Cup win in Sydney.

A court in Madrid granted the restraining order against Luis Rubiales who now cannot approach Jenni Hermoso.

It comes as the players in the World Cup winning squad have moved to boycott international matches because they claim changes to the hierarchy of Spanish football have not gone far enough.

Mr Rubiales resigned last week as the head of RFEF, the Spanish football association, after weeks of acrimony.

The kiss has hugely overshadowed Spain’s triumph.

He attended a court in Madrid on Friday.

The judge had been asked to stop Mr Rubiales, 46, from being within 500 metres of the player but settled on 200m.

A criminal complaint of sexual assault and coercion is being considered, which Mr Rubiales denied.

When he resigned, Mr Rubiales said “I have faith in the truth and I will do everything in my power so that it prevails”.

But Ms Hermoso, 33, has said that not only did she not consent, pressure was also put on her to come to the football boss’ defence.

The judge will now decide whether the case goes to trial.

Ms Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said that due to the imagery from the final and Spain’s laws of consent “we can show that Mr Rubiales had a complete lack of consent.”

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

On Friday, Madrid time, new manager Montse Torme is due to announce the squad for fixtures against Sweden and Spain.

However, the members of the Spanish women’s football team confirmed they will not return to international competition.

In the wake of