Luis Rubiales’ trial over forced kiss set to begin Monday

Former Spain football chief Luis Rubiales is set to stand trial on Monday for the forced kiss he gave star forward Jenni Hermoso after Spain’s victory over England in the 2023 Women’s World Cup.  

Rubiales, 47, sparked global outrage when he cupped Hermoso’s head and kissed her without consent following the win in Australia.

Prosecutors are seeking a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Rubiales one year for sexual assault due to the forced kiss and 18 months for allegedly pressuring Hermoso, 34, to downplay the incident. Hermoso is scheduled to testify in court.

The kiss was given “unexpectedly and without the consent or acceptance of the player”, prosecutors wrote in their indictment.

“Constant and repeated pressure was exerted directly on the player Jennifer Hermoso and through her family and friends with the aim of justifying and publicly approving the kiss that Luis Rubiales gave her against her will,” it added.

The highly anticipated trial gets underway at the National Court in San Fernando de Henares near Madrid at 10:00 am (0900 GMT) and is expected to run until February 19.

Rubiales is scheduled to take the stand on February 12. He has called the kiss an innocuous “peck between friends celebrating” and denied any coercion.

Among the accused alongside Rubiales are ex-women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda and two former federation officials, Ruben Rivera and Albert Luque.

They also stand accused of trying to coerce Hermoso with prosecutors seeking 18 months’ jail against them.

– Historic success overshadowed –

The scandal that rocked Spanish football and wrecked Rubiales’ career broke on August 20, 2023, moments after the women’s national team had clinched World Cup glory in Sydney.

As Hermoso joined her teammates in collecting their winner’s medals, Rubiales clasped her head and kissed her on the lips before letting her go with two slaps on the back.

The act unleashed a public outcry at what critics deemed an abuse of power. A recent reform of the Spanish criminal code classifies a non-consensual kiss as sexual assault.

Rubiales, who was already under investigation for alleged corruption in his role as federation head, finally gave into pressure and stepped down in September 2023, two days after the start of a probe over the kiss. He had been federation chief since 2018.

In a recent Netflix documentary titled “Se acabo” (“It’s over”), which looks back at the players’ anger after the scandal overshadowed their historic success, Hermoso revealed she cried following the kiss.

Hermoso, the all-time top scorer for the national women’s team who now plays in Mexico, said in the documentary that the federation demanded she appear in a video where she would claim Rubiales’ kiss “was nothing, it was… joy, euphoria”.