AN INVESTIGATING judge has proposed Luis Rubiales should be tried over his kiss on the lips of Spain midfielder Jennifer Hermoso during the Women’s World Cup final medal ceremony last year, and has concluded the kiss was non-consensual.

The incident overshadowed Spain’s World Cup success in August and ultimately ended in Rubiales’ resignation as the president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF).

The judge, Francisco De Jorge, has proposed three other individuals should be tried along with Rubiales — including World Cup-winning former Spain head coach Jorge Vilda — for exerting pressure on Hermoso to say she had consented to the kiss.

Rubiales was given a three-year ban from all football-related activity by Fifa last October over his conduct at the World Cup final in Sydney.

In addition to kissing Hermoso, he also grabbed his crotch in celebration of Spain’s 1-0 victory over England while stood in the stadium’s VIP area.

While Rubiales has apologised over the latter incident, he maintains the kiss on Hermoso was consensual. He has appealed against the sanction imposed by Fifa.