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".
Prosecutors demand Rubiales forced kiss trial be re-run
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Prosecutors demand Rubiales forced kiss trial be re-run
- They said judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto "unduly" prevented the prosecutor in the trial, Marta Durantez, from posing certain questions
- The judge "made no mention in the sentence" of key evidence brought up during the trial
Carlos Alcaraz wins third-round match but loses ‘drop-shot battle’ at Australian Open
- The left-handed Moutet mixed things up for Alcaraz in an almost festival Friday vibe
- “When you play someone like Corentin you don’t know what’s going to be next,” Alcaraz said
MELBOURNE: Carlos Alcaraz had to acknowledge that while he won the third-round match, he lost the battle of the drop shots against Corentin Moutet.
That could be a first for the 22-year-old Spaniard, who grew up relentlessly practicing his drop shots and is now at the Australian Open chasing a career Grand Slam.
The left-handed Moutet mixed things up for Alcaraz in an almost festival Friday vibe on Rod Laver Arena, his blend of drop shots, slice, lobs, tweeners, volleys and even an underarm serve keeping the world’s No. 1-ranked player on his toes.
“When you play someone like Corentin you don’t know what’s going to be next,” Alcaraz said after his 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 win over the No. 32 seed. “I had so much fun on the court. As you could see, we both pulled off great shots. Great points.”
Late in the first set, he said he was already fed up with tracking down drop shots and told his support team “I’m not going to run to get those.”
“I thought we were in a drop-shot competition,” Alcaraz added, laughing, “but he won!”
Ever the showman, Alcaraz chimed in with some of his own tricks and tweeners.
In the first round, Moutet was booed by the crowd for his underarm serve on match point. For his main arena debut, there was much more love from the crowd.
After a winning volley late in the match, he celebrated by extravagantly doffing his cap.
Alcaraz will next play Sunday against No. 19 Tommy Paul, who advanced when Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired with an injury after dropping the first two sets 6-1, 6-1.
In night matches, No. 3 Alexander Zverev, the runner-up here last year, advanced 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 over Cameron Norrie and No. 6 Alex de Minaur ousted Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. De Minuar next plays No. 10 Alexander Bublik.
Sabalenka, Coco Gauff advance
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 3 Coco Gauff had tough routes through the third round.
Sabalenka said there were times she felt like her head, her hands and her racket were not connected but she still had just enough to squeeze past Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7).
Gauff weathered early trouble against Hailey Baptiste before advancing 3-6, 6-0-6-3, cutting down her unforced errors and not serving any double-faults in the second set. She next plays No. 19 Karolina Muchova.
Sabalenka , chasing her third Australian Open title in four years, led 6-5 and 40-0 in her opening set but Potapova saved all three set points to send it to a tiebreaker.
In the second set, Potapova recovered two service breaks and again force a tiebreaker. She then had three set points but Sabalenka rallied when the pressure was on.
“She played incredible tennis,” Sabalenka said. “I was always on the back foot. There are days where you just have to fight — it was such a fight.”
Sabalenka won the Australian Open title in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up a year ago to Madison Keys.
She next faces 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, who was one of three teenagers advancing on Day 6.
Great’s advice
The 18-year-old Iva Jovic beat No. 7 Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 7-6 (3), after getting some advice from 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic.
“He gave me some very attentive tips for my game,” the American said. “That was one of the things in the forefront of my mind, because I think when Novak gives you some advice, you follow it.”
She’ll next play Yulia Putintseva, who shrugged off a vocal crowd to end Turkish player Zeynep Sonmez ‘s run, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3.
No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, who at 18 is into the fourth round in Australia for the third straight year, will next play No. 12 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, who beat Diana Shnaider of Russia 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Tien-Medvedev revisited
Daniil Medvedev rallied for a 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Fabian Marozsan, the fifth time he’s rallied from two-sets down to win a Grand Slam match.
The 2021 US Open champion next has a rematch with Learner Tien, who upset him here last year.
Heating up
Play will begin an hour earlier than initially scheduled Saturday because of high temperatures expected at Melbourne Park. The forecast is for a high of 40 degrees Celsius (104 F).
