Judge rules footie chief will face trial for Cup kiss
LUIS Rubiales should be tried over his kiss on the lips of Spain midfielder Jennifer Hermoso in the Women’s World Cup final medal bash last year, a court ruled.
The incident overshadowed Spain’s World Cup success in August and ultimately ended in Rubiales’ resignation as the president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF).
Judge Francisco De Jorge, who concluded the kiss was non-consensual, has proposed three other individuals should be tried along with Rubiales — including World Cupwinning former Spain head coach Jorge Vilda — for exerting pressure on Hermoso to say she had consented to the kiss.
CONSENT
A statement issued by the press office of the Audiencia Nacional court read: “The judge of the Audiencia Nacional Francisco de Jorge has proposed to try the former president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales for the nonconsensual kiss to the player of the Spanish national team Jennifer Hermoso after the final of the last World Cup, held on August 20 in Sydney.
“The magistrate also proposes to try Rubiales, along with the sports director of the men’s team, Albert Luque, the former coach of the women’s team Jorge Vilda and the former head of marketing of the federation Ruben Rivera for the subsequent pressure to which the player was subjected to agree to make a public statement affirming that the kiss had been consensual.
“In the order to move to an abbreviated procedure, in which the investigation is concluded considering that all the pertinent steps have been taken, the judge concludes that the kiss to the player ‘was not consensual and was a unilateral and unexpected move’ by Rubiales.”
Rubiales maintains the kiss on Hermoso was consensual.