Spanish soccer player Jennifer Hermoso testifies in sexual assault investigation against Luis Rubiales

madrid
CNN
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Spain’s star forward Jennifer Hermoso testified in a Madrid courtroom on Tuesday about an unwanted kiss she received from the country’s former soccer coach Luis Rubiales after her national team won the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

The kiss was televised around the world as Spain’s players lined up to receive their medals and congratulations from politicians and key figures in the world of football after their victory last August.

Rubiales, who was president of the Spanish Football Federation at the time, was seen kissing Hermoso on the lips and then slapping him twice on the back, sparking an immediate outcry in Spain and internationally over the consent. Ta.

Rubiales described the kiss as “mutual,” but Hermoso denied this, saying she did not consent and was not respected.

Rubiales resigned as federation president last September after weeks of pressure and now faces possible prosecution for his alleged actions.

Preliminary Judge Francisco de Jorge is reviewing the evidence presented to the court to decide whether to proceed with the case.

Spain’s National Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement after Tuesday’s closed-door hearing, saying Hermoso had “approved what he had previously reported to prosecutors.”

“The kiss was unexpected and in no way consensual. The situation the victim experienced at the hands of those investigated after the incident, both on the flight back to Spain and while in Ibiza, “It was harassment that completely changed normal life and created a situation of anxiety and sadness,” it said in a statement.

Hermoso told reporters outside the courtroom that “everything went well” and that he hoped the case would move forward.

“And thank you for the support you have shown me so many times and that everything will be fine,” Hermoso said.

Rubiales was charged with two counts of sexual assault and coercion, and later told Hermoso the kiss was consensual, a National Court prosecutor told CNN in December. He is said to have put pressure on him to do so.

Three other men, including a former women’s team coach and two other federation officials, are each charged with one count of extortion, prosecutors said.

Rubiales and three other defendants each denied the charges in preliminary testimony before a judge in recent months, the court’s prosecutor’s office said in an earlier statement after their respective hearings.

In October, FIFA, the world’s governing body for soccer, banned Rubiales from “all soccer-related activities” for three years, but Rubiales has vowed to appeal the decision.