Unwanted kiss ‘stained’ my world Cup moment — Jenni Hermoso

Jenni Hermoso has testified in the legal proceedings against ex-Spanish football federation chief, Luis Rubiales, asserting that the kiss he gave her during the 2023 World Cup “stained one of the happiest days of my life.”

Rubiales, the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, faced trial in Madrid on Monday over the kiss, accused of sexual assault and coercion.

Taking the stand as the trial’s first witness, Hermoso stated, “My boss was kissing me, and this shouldn’t happen in any social or work setting.”

Rubiales sparked widespread controversy when he kissed the footballer on the lips while the team received their World Cup medals in Australia, triggering protests and demands for his resignation. He denies any wrongdoing.

Hermoso testified that she never consented to the kiss and felt “disrespected” as a woman. “I greeted the queen, I greeted her daughter. The next thing was meeting Rubiales.” Hermoso recounted how they embraced in celebration. “The next thing he did was to grab me by the ears and kiss me on the mouth.”

“I didn’t hear or understand anything,” she said. She continued, “A kiss on the lips is only given when I decide so. No one came to ask me how I was” after the incident, she told the court.

The footballer stated she felt “completely abandoned by the federation.”

Despite what happened, she carried on celebrating “the greatest achievement” of her life with her teammates. “There was no place for me to be crying or lying in the corner of the dressing room.”

Initially, her teammates joked about the incident before Irene Paredes intervened, saying, “Stop, this is serious.”

Hermoso testified that shortly after the kiss, she was pulled aside and pressured to approve a statement downplaying the incident, which she refused to do. She also revealed that Rubiales asked her to record a video with him on the flight home because he was being accused of assault on social media.

“I said no, that I was not going to do anything, that I was not the cause of this.” She described seeing people gathered around Rubiales on the flight and noticed his daughters crying.

Rubiales Faces Legal Consequences

Prosecutors are seeking a one-year prison sentence for the 47-year-old Rubiales for sexual assault.

They are also calling for an additional one-and-a-half-year sentence for coercion, arguing that he tried to pressure Hermoso into publicly saying the kiss was consensual.

Rubiales denies the charges. At the time, he insisted the kiss had been mutual and denounced what he called a “witch-hunt” driven by “fake feminism” before eventually resigning.

Three of his former colleagues are also standing trial, accused of coercing Hermoso into saying the kiss was consensual. Jorge Vilda, coach of the World Cup-winning team, Rubén Rivera, the federation’s former marketing head, and former sporting director Albert Luque all deny the accusations.

The trial is scheduled to continue until February 19.

(BBC)

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