Spain ex-football chief Luis Rubiales has told his version of events in court over his alleged forced kiss of player Jenni Hermoso at the 2023 World Cup.
Former Spanish football federation chief Luis Rubiales has told a court that player Jenni Hermoso had given her consent for him to kiss her in the aftermath of Spain’s Women’s World Cup victory in 2023.
“I am totally sure that she gave me her permission,” Rubiales told Spain’s National Court on Tuesday in Madrid where he is standing trial. “In that moment it was something completely spontaneous.”
Rubiales, 47, is accused of sexual assault for kissing Hermoso on the mouth and then attempting to coerce her – with the help of three other former football federation officials – into publicly saying the kiss at the World Cup awards ceremony in Australia had been consensual.
“She squeezed me very tightly under my armpits, she lifted me, and when I came down I asked her if I can give you a kiss, and she said ‘OK’, that’s what happened,” he said.
“What happened had no importance neither for me nor for her,” Rubiales added during his highly anticipated testimony, describing the kiss as “an act of affection”.
Prosecutors are seeking two and a half years in prison against Rubiales for sexual assault for the forced kiss and allegedly coercing Hermoso to downplay the incident. Rubiales denies the charge of coercion levelled against him, former women’s team manager Jorge Vilda and two ex-federation officials.
Hermoso told the trial’s opening day on February 3 that she felt “disrespected” by a non-consensual kiss after she had just helped Spain win the World Cup.
