Former Spanish Football Federation head Luis Rubiales is scheduled to appear in court on Friday as part of the investigation concerning his forcible kiss on Jenni Hermoso’s lips following the Women’s World Cup final.
Rubiales has been asked to appear before an examining magistrate at 1200 local time (1000 GMT) on Tuesday “to be heard as an accused” and to reply to allegations of “sexual assault,” according to a Madrid court statement.
The 46-year-old kissed Hermoso after Spain’s victory in Sydney on August 20, which she claims was not consensual, while Rubiales claims it was.
On Monday, National Court Judge Francisco de Jorge accepted a charge submitted by Spanish prosecutors last week against Rubiales for “crimes of sexual assault and coercion.”
According to a recent change in the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be termed s**ual assault, a criminal category that encompasses all forms of s**ual violence.
According to public prosecutors, the consequences for a forced kiss can vary from a fine to four years in prison.
Rubiales resigned as president of the Spanish Football Federation on Sunday, but defended himself over the kiss.
“I have faith in the truth and I will do everything in my power so that it prevails,” Rubiales wrote in an open letter.
Hermoso, 33, who plays for Mexican club Pachuca, said the unwelcome kiss left her feeling “vulnerable and like a victim of an assault,” and described it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part.”
She also accused Rubiales of pressing her to speak out in his defense just after the outrage over the kiss erupted, which authorities said might be considered a coercion offense.