Spanish judge rules former football chief should go on trial for kissing Jenni Hermoso after 2023 final
A Spanish judge has proposed that the disgraced former Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales be tried over the kiss he allegedly forced on the Women’s World Cup star Jenni Hermoso.
In a ruling on Thursday after his preliminary investigation, judge Francisco de Jorge of Spain’s top criminal court concluded that the kiss “was not consensual and was a unilateral and unexpected move” by Rubiales, who is facing charges of sexual assault and coercion.
The judge also proposed putting three others on trial for allegedly subsequently exerting pressure on Hermoso, 33, “to make a public statement confirming the kiss was consensual”. They are the former women’s coach Jorge Vilda, the men’s team director, Albert Luque, and the RFEF marketing boss, Ruben Rivera.
All three have also been investigated by the judge and have denied claims they tried to pressure Hermoso into defending Rubiales.
During the incident on 20 August last year, which took place live in front of the cameras after Spain beat England to win the Women’s World Cup final in Australia, Rubiales held Hermoso’s head in both hands and kissed her on the lips.
Rubiales denies the kiss constituted assault and has described the act as “a consensual peck”. Hermoso has insisted it was not.
She filed a lawsuit against Rubiales, 46, in September and testified before the judge this month saying she had come under pressure to defend him both on the flight back from Australia and on a subsequent team holiday to Ibiza.
In her testimony, she said she had faced “constant harassment by the parties under investigation, which disrupted her normal life, causing her anxiety and distress”.
Under Spanish law, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault – a criminal category that groups all types of sexual violence.
Penalties for such a kiss range from a fine to four years in prison.
Source: The Guardian