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The former president of the Spanish soccer federation, Luis Rubiales, has told a court that Jenni hermoso consented to a kiss during the presentation ceremony for 2023’s Women’s World Cup.
Rubiales was accused of sexual abuse and coercion after allegedly trying get the player downplay the incident.
Testifying in a Madrid court on Tuesday, Rubiales said: “I asked her if I could give her a little kiss and she said ‘OK. I’m 100% sure she consented.”
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Hermoso declared on the very first day of trial that she didn’t consent.
Rubiales admitted that the kissing was a mistake and said that he acted more like a former football player than a president of a institution.
Rubiales: “Hermoso knew that I had asked her, and she refused to answer.”
I apologised because my behavior was insufficient. In that situation, I should not have let my emotions get the better of me.
Rubiales stated that Hermoso had been asked to minimize the kiss due to an institutional crisis in the federation. It was only normal for officials try to diffuse this situation.
He said that he did not ask anyone to pressurize Hermoso at the moment, but she was not making a big deal.
Rubiales stated that they took different action when Hermoso said she did not want to make a video. This included issuing a press release with Hermoso’s comments at the time.
Hermoso, her teammates and others gave different versions in their testimony. Hermoso said the player was deeply affected by the kiss. She also claimed that she felt pressured to deny what had happened.
A lip-reading expert also testified Tuesday that Rubiales had asked Hermoso: “Can I give a little kiss to you?”
Hermoso was shown in videos celebrating the kiss and then talking about it.
Hermoso, in an audio recording of an interview given shortly after the final, said: “Nobody was expecting it but I don’t really care. We are world champions and that’s all that matters.”
“I didn’t like it but I only can say that it wasn’t a big deal, and it will be remembered as an anecdote”.
“Whoever is going to make it a big deal will do it. And those who aren’t, they won’t,” said the reporter after she told her there had been a lot of discussion about the kiss in Spain.
“I’m sure it won’t be 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 apologised and said that he ‘felt bad’ it marred the celebrations.
Hermoso is seen in the video laughing normal after his words.
The defence also attempted to discredit Hermoso’s previous testimony. Hermoso’s older brother claimed that Jorge Vilda – the coach of the women’s team – had pressed her to record a video in which Rubiales was present to lessen the severity of the situation.
Hermoso’s brother was interviewed and he downplayed the kiss.
He said in his testimony that he had downplayed the moment of the kiss to ensure the focus was on the celebrations.
The three other defendants are expected to testify on Wednesday — Vilda, the federation’s former sports director of the men’s national team, Albert Luque, and the former head of marketing, Ruben Rivera.
All are accused of coercion.
