MADRID: Former Spanish soccer federation boss Luis Rubiales informed a court docket on Tuesday (Feb 11) that participant Jenni Hermoso had given her consent for him to kiss her within the aftermath of the Spain ladies’s World Cup victory in 2023.
“I’m completely positive that she gave me her permission,” Rubiales informed the court docket in Madrid the place he’s standing trial. “In that second it was one thing fully spontaneous.”
Rubiales, 47, is accused of sexual assault for kissing Hermoso on the mouth after which trying to coerce her – with the assistance of three different former soccer federation officers – into publicly saying the kiss on the 2023 World Cup awards ceremony in Australia had been consensual.
He has denied the costs, insisting the kiss was consensual, whereas Hermoso has mentioned it was not.
Requested whether or not he usually kissed folks on the lips, Rubiales mentioned the event and the very fact he had identified Hermoso for a very long time warranted it. He mentioned he would do one thing related with a male participant or one in every of his daughters.
“You do not win a World Cup every single day,” he mentioned. “After I see my daughters I do not give them a peck however on New Yr’s Eve I give them a peck.”
Witnessed by hundreds of thousands of tv viewers and a complete stadium in Sydney throughout the awards ceremony following the Spanish ladies’s staff’s victory within the 2023 World Cup, the following uproar gave momentum to a “Me Too” motion through which feminine gamers have been combating sexism and striving for parity with their male friends.
The prosecution is in search of 2-1/2 years’ jail for Rubiales, though in Spain these handed sentences below two years can often escape incarceration by paying damages as a substitute if they don’t have prior convictions.
Alongside Rubiales, former ladies’s nationwide staff coach Jorge Vilda, former Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) sporting director Albert Luque and the RFEF’s former head of selling Ruben Rivera are additionally on trial for his or her suspected roles in pressuring Hermoso. They’ve denied the costs.
After Spain beat England in Sydney on Aug 20, 2023, Rubiales clutched his crotch in celebration on the ultimate whistle whereas standing close to Spain’s Queen Letizia and her daughter Princess Sofia.
Later, throughout the medal presentation, he appeared to elevate Hermoso off her ft then grabbed her by the top and pulled her towards him to kiss her on the lips.
Testifying final week, Hermoso mentioned she didn’t comply with the kiss and that the furore had tainted what ought to have been one of many happiest days of her life.
A verdict within the case is anticipated in March, a couple of month after witness testimony ends.
