Former Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales has said in court that he was ‘totally sure’ that player Jenni Hermoso consented to him kissing her on the lips after her team won the World Cup in 2023.
Rubiales is accused of sexual assault and coercion for allegedly trying to downplay the kiss that sparked outrage in Spain and around the world and marred the celebrations of the team’s first World Cup title.
Hermoso earlier told the court that she ‘never’ agreed to the kiss, that she had felt ‘disrespected’ by it and that it ‘stained one of the happiest days of my life.’
Rubiales, who was the head of the Spanish Football Association at the time of the tournament in Australia, resigned in disgrace later that year.
Prosecutors are seeking two and a half years in prison against Rubiales for sexual assault for the forced kiss and allegedly coercing Hermoso to downplay the incident.
‘She squeezed me very tightly under my armpits, she lifted me, and when I came down I asked her if I can give you a kiss, and she said ‘OK’, that’s what happened,’ he said.
‘What happened had no importance neither for me nor for her,’ Rubiales added during his highly anticipated testimony, describing the kiss as ‘an act of affection’.
The 47-year-old also denies the charge of coercion levelled against him, former women’s team manager Jorge Vilda and two ex-federation officials.
President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales (R) kisses Jennifer Hermoso of Spain (L) during the medal ceremony of FIFA Women’s World Cup Final on August 20, 2023
Rubiales is accused of sexual assault and coercion for allegedly trying to downplay the kiss
While Rubiales has insisted that the kiss was neither illegal nor immoral, the football boss admitted that it had been a mistake.
‘It was a mistake, I was the president of the federation and from the outset I recognised it was a mistake,’ he said.
‘I acted like an athlete who was a member of the group and I should have adopted a more institutional role.’
‘But that’s not what you said to the press is it?’ the prosecutor pressed him, adding that he ‘didn’t look remorseful or upset’.
Rubiales admitted he had not told the press it was a mistake at the time but defended himself by saying that he had been focusing on the news of the death of one of the players’ fathers.
The three other defendants in the trial are expected to testify on Tuesday – former women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda, the federation’s former sports director of the men’s national team, Albert Luque, and the former head of marketing, Ruben Rivera. They are all accused of coercion.
An expert on lip reading also testified on Tuesday, saying that Rubiales asked Hermoso, ‘Can I give you a little kiss?’
Videos were shown with Hermoso celebrating and later talking about the kiss.
‘Nobody expected it, but I don’t care, we are world champions, that’s what matters,’ Hermoso said in audios reproduced in court from an interview she gave shortly after the final. ‘I didn’t like it, but all I can say is that it was part of the moment, it won’t become nothing more than that, it will go down as an anecdote.
‘Whoever wants to make a big deal about it will do it, and those who don’t, won’t,’ she said after the reporter told her that there was a lot of talk about the kiss back in Spain. ‘I’m very sure that it won’t become a big deal, we are the champions.’
There was also a video of Rubiales telling the squad that he was ‘sad’ with the repercussions about the kiss. He apologized and said that he ‘felt bad’ it marred the celebrations. Hermoso was seen in the video laughing normally after his words.
The defense also tried to discredit the previous testimony of Hermoso’s brother, who said Vilda pressured Hermoso into recording a video with Rubiales to downplay the situation.
The defense showed an interview with Hermoso’s brother himself downplaying the kiss. He had said in his own testimony that he downplayed the kiss at the time to make sure the focus was about the celebrations.
Rubiales resigned under pressure three weeks after the scandal surfaced and was banned by FIFA for three years. He had said he was the victim of a ‘witch hunt’ by ‘false feminists.’
The kiss prompted outrage in Spain about the prevalence of sexism in sports and beyond.
Prosecutors, Hermoso and the Spain players’ association want Rubiales jailed for two and a half years, fined 50,000 euros ($51,800) for damages, and banned from working as a sports official.
They want the other three defendants sentenced to one and a half years in prison.
