January 2, 2024, 19:04
The footballer testified for two and a half hours, telling the judge the kiss was “unexpected and in no way consensual.”
Photo: Alamy, Getty
Spain’s World Cup-winning soccer player Jenni Hermoso has testified in a Madrid court that her kiss with former soccer federation president Luis Rubiales was “not consensual.”
Last year, Mr Rubiales grabbed Mr Hermoso’s head and kissed him on the lips at a medal ceremony in Sydney after Spain’s victory over England.
A judge will now decide whether the former president should be tried on charges of sexual assault and coercion.
“Everything is in the hands of justice, that’s all I can say,” Hermoso told reporters.
The soccer player testified for two and a half hours, telling the judge that the kiss was “unexpected and in no way consensual.”
Rubiales is being investigated on suspicion of extortion over his role in allegations of pressure on football players.
Photo: Alamy
Under Spanish law, kissing without consent is a form of sexual assault.
read more: Luis Rubiales gets restraining order forbidding him from approaching Jenni Hermoso after kissing at Women’s World Cup
read more: Spanish Football Association coach Luis Rubiales suspended and resigns following Jenni Hermoso’s World Cup kissing scandal
Her evidence repeated statements she gave to prosecutors months earlier, which were leaked to Spanish television.
In a leaked statement in October, she said she clearly felt “disrespected” both as a player and as a person.
The former president has consistently maintained his innocence, calling the kiss a “consensual peck,” but was forced to resign.
Photo: Getty
She added: “I had done nothing to put myself in that situation… How could I have expected that in a scenario of a medal ceremony at a World Cup final?” .
Hermoso’s statement released immediately after the final said the kiss was consensual, but she later said she was pressured by officials from the Spanish Football Federation to reveal her name.
Rubiales is being investigated on suspicion of extortion over his role in allegations of pressure on football players.
Prosecutors launched an investigation and Rubiales was banned from coming within 200 meters of Hermoso in September 2022.
The former president has consistently maintained his innocence, calling the kiss a “consensual peck,” but was forced to resign.