A Spanish public prosecutor on Wednesday told the trial of ex-football chief Luis Rubiales there was "no doubt" the kiss he gave Jenni Hermoso in 2023 was "non-consensual".

Rubiales, 47, was forced to resign in disgrace in 2023 after kissing Hermoso, 34, following Spain's triumph at that year's Women's World Cup in Australia.

The scandal sparked a global outcry and thrust the spotlight on the prevalence of macho culture and sexism in sport and beyond.

Prosecutors are seeking two-and-a-half years in prison for Rubiales, one year for sexual assault for the forced kiss and 18 months for allegedly coercing her to downplay the incident.

Hermoso says she did not consent to the kiss while Rubiales denies wrongdoing and argues it was consensual.

"It was a non-consensual kiss: I believe that after the examination carried out (during the trial), there is no doubt, or at least not sufficient reasonable doubt," public prosecutor Marta Durantez Gil told the high-profile trial at Spain's National Court in San Fernando de Henares near Madrid.

There was no history of "animosity" between Hermoso and Rubiales that could have led the player to "not tell the truth about what happened at the time of the kiss", she said, adding there was "total consistency between the facts she recounted and her immediate and subsequent behaviour".

Among the accused alongside Rubiales are ex-women's national team coach Jorge Vilda and two former federation officials.

They also stand accused of trying to coerce Hermoso with prosecutors seeking 18-month jail terms for them.

Durantez Gil rejected the defence's argument that the fact that Hermoso celebrated the World Cup win, drinking champagne with her teammates, showed she was not really upset by the kiss.

"How long are we going to keep demanding heroic behaviour from the victim of a sexual assault? Wasn't she entitled to celebrate such a sporting triumph?" she asked.

The trial is expected to wrap up on Thursday, with a sentence due several weeks later.

- 'Normalise the situation' -

Hermoso's teammates have described how she cried and felt "overwhelmed" following the incident, while her brother Rafael Hermoso told the court Vilda had threatened "professional and personal consequences" if the star forward did not appear with Rubiales in a video downplaying the incident.

Vilda denied the allegation when he took the stand on Wednesday.

"What I said to him was that we could look for a way to normalise the situation and talk about what was really important... which was the championship," Vilda told the court.

Rubiales told the court on Tuesday he was "totally sure" Hermoso consented to the kiss during the medal ceremony after the final.

"She squeezed me very tightly under my armpits, she lifted me, and when I came down I asked her if I can give you a kiss, and she said 'OK', that's what happened," he said.

Rubiales conceded he "made a mistake" on the podium and that his behaviour "was not appropriate", saying he should have "been in a more institutional role", but denied any offence had been committed.

Hermoso, the all-time top scorer for the Spain women's team, told the opening day of the trial she felt "disrespected" after a non-consensual kiss that "should not happen in any social or work setting".

She was not called up immediately after the World Cup, with new coach Montse Tome saying she wanted to protect the player. Hermoso transferred from Pachuca to another Mexican side Tigres in 2024.

du-mdm/ds/mw