Spanish women’s World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso has confronted the country’s former soccer federation boss Luis Rubiales at his trial in Madrid, saying she did not agree to the kiss that triggered a national backlash against sexism in sport.
“I knew I was being kissed by my boss and that should not happen in any social or work environment,” she said on Monday of the encounter seen live by millions around the world at the 2023 World Cup awards ceremony in Australia.
“I think it was a moment that tainted one of the happiest days of my life,” added the 34-year-old forward as Rubiales sat nearby at Madrid’s High Court taking notes.
Rubiales, 47, is accused of sexual assault and then attempting to coerce Hermoso – with the help of three other men – into declaring that the kiss had been consensual.
Though he apologised for being over-effusive in a moment of national triumph, Rubiales denies those criminal charges and has cast himself as the victim of a witchhunt.
Asked by a prosecutor on Monday if she had agreed to the kiss, Hermoso replied: “Never”.
“I didn’t hear or understand anything,” she added. “The next thing he did was to grab me by the ears and kiss me on the mouth.”
Rubiales has said it was consensual and scoffed at critics in the aftermath, but Hermoso said she felt a victim of aggression and had pressure put on her to sign a statement exonerating him, which she said she refused to do.
The ensuing scandal eclipsed Spain’s first women’s World Cup victory and proved a tipping point for efforts by Spain’s female players to expose sexism and achieve parity with male counterparts.
The trial will involve testimony from several of Hermoso’s teammates, including Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas.
Rubiales has asked his daughters to take the stand.
He and his co-defendants – former women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda, former Spanish football federation (RFEF) sporting director Albert Luque and the RFEF’s former head of marketing Ruben Rivera – will testify once the court has interviewed the rest of the witnesses.
The prosecution is seeking two-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for Rubiales, although in Spain those handed sentences of less than two years can usually escape incarceration by paying damages if they do not have prior convictions.
The scandal sparked a strike by Hermoso’s teammates and triggered several sackings at the federation, with both Rubiales and his right-hand man and successor being ousted, and a woman appointed to coach the women’s team for the first time.
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