“Little kiss agreed to” or imposed? A Spanish judge heard for the first time this Tuesday the player Jenni Hermoso who accuses the former boss of Spanish football of having kissed her by force after La Roja’s victory in Sydney.
Spanish player Jenni Hermoso, who was forcibly kissed in August by the former president of the football federation Luis Rubiales after the Spanish women’s World Cup victory, was heard for the first time Tuesday morning by the judge in charge of this affair.
The footballer who now plays in Mexico appeared before the National Court in Madrid.
Initially scheduled for November 28, the hearing of Jenni Hermoso, who had filed a complaint against Rubiales in September, had been postponed for scheduling reasons.
Luis Rubiales is charged with “sexual assault” and the crime of “coercion”. The man has already been heard by the judge. He has since been banned from coming within 200 meters of the player.
On August 20, after the victory of the La Roja players in Australia, the 46-year-old Spanish football boss kissed the attacker by surprise on the mouth, provoking indignation in Spain and across the world.
Refusing to resign for “a little kiss agreed to”he attacked, during a resounding speech five days later, a supposed “false feminism” and argued that he had obtained the player’s authorization before kissing her.
A version denied by Jenni Hermoso who said she “felt vulnerable and victim (…) ofan impulsive and sexist act, inappropriate and without any consent on (his) part“. Under pressure, Rubiales ended up resigning on September 10, saying he was the victim of “disproportionate campaign”.
Ihas since been suspended for three years from any football-related activity by Fifa, a decision which he will appeal.
Jenni Hermoso, 33, has unwillingly become a global symbol of the fight for gender equality. She was elected woman of the year 2023 by the Spanish edition of the prestigious American magazine GQ.