1 of 2 | Spanish women’s national soccer team player Jennifer Hermoso testified Tuesday that it was not consensual when Spain’s Soccer Federation President Luis Rubiales Tuesday kissed her following the team’s World Cup win. Photo by Mariscal/EPA-EFE
Spanish national soccer team member Jenni Hermoso testified in Madrid on Tuesday that Spain’s Soccer Federation President Luis Rubiales kissed her on the lips during a World Cup medal ceremony without her consent.
Hermoso told the court that the kiss, which happened after Spain’s women’s team captured the World Cup in Australia last year, was “unexpected and at no time consensual.” Advertisement
“All is in the hands of justice, that’s all I can say,” she told reporters after the testimony.
Hermoso, one of Spain’s top female soccer stars, followed the incident by filing a criminal complaint against Rubiales for the kiss and then attempting her pressure her to speak out in his favor.
Madrid Judge Francisco de Jorge is trying to determine if sexual assault and coercion charges should be filed against Rubiales over the incident, as a kiss without consent can be ruled as sexual assault under Spanish law.
Rubiales, who resigned as Spain’s top soccer official in September over the incident, has continued to claim that the kiss was consensual and he had asked for her permission. She passionately rejected that assertion in her testimony, saying she felt victimized in what should have been a joyous time for her and her teammates. Advertisement
“No person, in any work, sports or social environment, should be a victim of this type of non-consensual behavior,” she said in court. “I felt vulnerable and the victim of an aggression, an impulsive, sexist act, out of place and without any consent on my part. Simply put, I was not respected.”
FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, suspended Rubiales in the fall when he initially refused to resign. Dozens of women on Spain’s national team said they would refuse to play until he did.
A judge issued a restraining order preventing Rubiales from coming within 600 feet of Hermoso and in October, FIFA slapped him with a three-year ban from all soccer-related activities.
