Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso appeared in Madrid High Court on Tuesday to testify regarding the alleged non-consensual kiss planted on her lips by former football federation chief Luis Rubiales after Spain’s victory in the Women’s World Cup last summer.
Hermoso, Spain’s all-time top scorer, spent a few hours providing her testimony behind closed doors to investigating judge Francisco de Jorge. The judge is examining evidence, including television footage, before deciding whether to approve charges and advance the case to trial.
The 33-year-old forward filed a criminal complaint in September, accusing Rubiales of sexual assault and coercion in connection with the kiss on the winners’ podium. She stated that she did not want to be kissed and felt “vulnerable and a victim of aggression.”
Rubiales, who resigned as president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in September 2023 amid the controversy, described the kiss as “spontaneous, mutual, euphoric, and consensual.”
The case has generated significant attention, sparking protests and highlighting broader issues of forced intimacy. In addition to potential criminal charges, Rubiales faces an inquiry by Spain’s top sport court over alleged “serious misconduct,” and FIFA has banned him from office for three years.
In August, the High Court prosecutor, Marta Durantez Gil, indicated that the sexual assault charge Rubiales might face carries a prison term of one to four years. Hermoso claimed in her complaint that she and her relatives were pressured by Rubiales and his entourage to say that she justified and approved what happened.
The judge had previously imposed a restraining order to prevent Rubiales from approaching Hermoso during the legal proceedings.