Luis Rubiales: Sports Administrative Court deliver Jenni Hermoso kiss verdict with incident not classified as 'very serious offence'

The Sports Administrative Court in Spain has ruled that Luis Rubiales' kiss on Jennifer Hermoso was not a «very serious offence».

The court, known as TAD in Spain, have investigated Rubiales' conduct at the Women's World Cup final, in which he forcibly grabbed and kissed Hermoso. Per Marca, a verdict has been reached and TAD has ruled Rubiales' misconduct as «serious» but not «very serious».

FIFA has suspended Rubiales for a fixed term of 90 days, but the verdict from TAD now opens the door to Rubiales potentially returning to his previous role as president of the Football Federation in the country once his ban is up. The verdict reached by TAD, however, may result in a suspension for the Spaniard regardless; deeming the offense as «serious» could still result in a two-year suspension.

Guillem Balague reports that the Spanish government would have been able to suspend the 46-year-old had the offence been ruled «very serious», but they are not able to do so now, due to it only being ruled a «serious» offence. Regardless, TAD could still implement the two-year ban.

The investigation was conducted under the old Law of Sport, which was established in 1990 and it would have been ruled «very serious» had the governing body used the updated rules, which were established in 2022.

As it stands, Rubiales remains under investigation by both FIFA and the Spanish government, and it remains to be seen if any further action is taken.

Rubiales' has seen the entire staff of the World Cup winning Spain team resign, minus head coach Jorge Vilda. His mother was also hospitalised over her refusal to eat in protest of the accusations against him and he has even had his character questioned by his uncle, who labelled him a «cowardly man».