Luis Rubiales, Spain’s former football head, will go on trial on Monday for forcing a kiss on star striker Jenni Hermoso, who is set to testify.
After Spain defeated England to win the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia, the 47-year-old clasped Hermoso’s head and kissed her unexpectedly, causing global uproar.
Prosecutors are seeking two and a half years in prison for Rubiales, one year for sexual assault for the forced kiss, and 18 months for allegedly coercing Hermoso, 34, into downplaying the incident.
In their charge, prosecutors stated that the kiss was given “unexpectedly and without the consent or acceptance of the player.”
“Constant and repeated pressure was exerted directly on the player Jennifer Hermoso and through her family and friends with the aim of justifying and publicly approving the kiss that Luis Rubiales gave her against her will,” it added.
The highly awaited trial begins at 10:00 a.m. (0900 GMT) in the National Court in San Fernando de Henares, near Madrid, and is slated to last until February 19.
Rubiales is expected to testify on February 12. He described the kiss as a simple “peck between friends celebrating” and rejected any pressure.
Along with Rubiales, the accused include former women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda and two former federation officials, Ruben Rivera and Albert Luque.
They are also accused of attempting to compel Hermoso, with prosecutors requesting an 18-month sentence against them.
The controversy that devastated Spanish football and wrecked Rubiales’ career erupted on August 20, 2023, moments after the women’s national team had clinched World Cup gold in Sydney.
Rubiales gripped Hermoso’s head and kissed her on the lips before slapping her on the back.
The act sparked a public outcry over what opponents called an abuse of power. A non-consensual kiss is now considered sexual assault under a recent revision to the Spanish criminal code.
Rubiales, who was already under investigation for potential wrongdoing in his job as federation leader, succumbed to pressure and resigned in September 2023, two days after the kiss investigation began. He had been the federation’s chief since 2018.
In a recent Netflix documentary titled “Se acabó” (“It’s over”), which examines the players’ rage after the controversy overshadowed their historic achievement, Hermoso confessed that she cried after the kiss.
Hermoso, the all-time leading scorer for the national women’s team who now plays in Mexico, stated in the documentary that the federation ordered she appear in a video claiming Rubiales‘ kiss “was nothing; it was… joy, euphoria.”
