World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso nominated for FIFA’s The Best Women’s Player of the Year award alongside Ballon d’Or-winning team-mate Aitana Bonmati… weeks after being called to testify in Luis Rubiales’ sexual assault investigation

World Cup winner Jennifer Hermoso has been nominated for FIFA World Player of the Year.

No 10 lifted the World Cup trophy in Australia with Spain in August after beating Lioness Sarina Wiegman 1-0 in the final in Sydney, but the awards ceremony and subsequent fallout from the historic win was overshadowed by an incident involving the former Spain boss. FA Luis Rubiales.

Rubiales forcibly kissed Hermoso on the lips as he accepted her winner’s medal, and his actions sparked widespread controversy, despite his claim that the kiss was consensual.

The CF Pachuca striker denied that she had consented to the speech in the weeks after the event, and Rubiales later resigned and received a three-year ban from football activities by FIFA.

Rubiales was served with a restraining order in September and is currently banned from coming within 200 meters of the 33-year-old.

Jenny Hermoso has been nominated for Women’s Player of the Year at the FIFA The Best Awards.

A World Cup winner in the summer with the Spanish national team, Hermoso plays for the Mexican club Pachuca.

Hermoso’s World Cup victory was overshadowed by an incident involving former Spanish FA chief Luis Rubiales, in which the now-disgraced official appeared to forcibly kiss the player.

In addition to Hermoso’s nomination, her Spain teammate and this year’s Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati also received the nod from international football’s governing body.

Colombian star and Real Madrid striker Linda Caicedo rounds out the shortlist, while Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi are nominated for Men’s Player of the Year.

In late November, Hermoso was asked to testify in a trial investigating sexual assault allegations against Rubiales.

Numerous figures from Spanish football were called to testify, including Hermoso’s teammate and two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexis Putellas.

Prosecutors filed the lawsuit in Spain’s National Court in Madrid two days after Hermoso formally accused Rubiales of sexual assault.

Hermoso’s national teammate and Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati is also nominated.

Rounding out the list is Colombian star and Real Madrid striker Linda Caicedo.

Under a sexual consent law passed last year, Rubiales could face a fine or one to four years in prison if convicted of sexual assault.

Hermoso described the kiss as “an impulsive, sexist act, inappropriate and without any consent on my part.”

In FIFA’s published findings into the incident, FA chairman Debbie Hewitt said Rubiales also behaved inappropriately towards two England players, which made her feel “deeply uncomfortable”.

Hewitt claimed the Spaniard “grabbed and caressed English tennis player Laura Coombs’ face” before “apparently forcibly kissing Lucy Bronze on her face.”

Rubiales responded by calling her a “hypocrite” and suggesting she was doing her role a disservice.

Hermoso was previously awarded GQ’s Person of the Year award, where she was praised for her role in Spain’s World Cup victory, as well as her courage to speak out after the incident.

Rubiales has a restraining order banning him from coming within 200 meters of Hermoso.

The 33-year-old told GQ how the fallout from the incident made her briefly “forget” she was a footballer.

Hermoso later described how Rubiale’s behavior and the ensuing controversy and backlash made her “forget” she was a footballer.

“For a while, I forgot that I was a football player,” Hermoso said. “But you come back to training, to the field, put on your equipment, and try to be your best again.”

“Being a Taurus makes me realize that I need to fight, but also protect myself. If I want something, I go for it, no matter how many times I fail and hit the wall.

“It helped me achieve everything I set out to achieve in the world of football.”