Jenni Hermoso, the Spanish World Cup winner, testified before a judge on Tuesday that she had been pressured to justify the acts of her former Spanish football chief, Luis Rubiales, and that the kiss was “at no point consensual.”
Just before 10:00 am (0900 GMT), the 33-year-old arrived at the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid to give a testimony before Judge Francisco de Jorge, who is looking into charges of coercion and sexual assault against Rubiales.
“At the end of her declaration, she ratified the statement made at the public prosecutor’s office that the kiss was completely unexpected and at no point was it consensual,” a judicial source told AFP.
Following Spain’s victory in the World Cup in Australia, the incident on August 20 involved the then-president of the RFEF football association of Spain holding her head in both hands and forcing her to kiss him on the lips.
Hermoso insists it wasn’t “a consensual peck,” despite what he said.
In September, she sued him and informed the judge that, both on the plane back from Australia and during a team vacation to the Balearic Islands’ Ibiza, she had felt pressured to stand up for Rubiales.
“After the event, the situation experienced by the victim, both on the flight back to Spain and during her stay in Ibiza was one of constant harassment by the parties under investigation, which disrupted her normal life, causing her anxiety and distress,” the source said, quoting Hermoso’s testimony.
A non-consensual kiss may fall under the criminal category of sexual assault in Spain, which encompasses all forms of sexual abuse.
A fine or four years in jail are the possible penalties for such a kiss.
In addition to being accused of “coercion,” 46-year-old Rubiales is also barred from being within 200 meters (yards) of Hermoso due to a restraining order. It is said that he forced her to defend his acts, which were captured on camera and broadcast live around the globe.
FIFA, the body that oversees world football, suspended him after the kiss caused worldwide indignation.
Rubiales appeared in court on September 15 and in October.
The judge questioned three more people on claims that they put further pressure on Hermoso: RFEF marketing chief Ruben Rivera, men’s team director Albert Luque, and former women’s coach Jorge Vilda.
Several additional witnesses, including two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas and two other Spanish teammates, have testified in court regarding the pressure Hermoso endured.