Jenni Hermoso testifies in Madrid courtroom over Rubiales kiss

Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso has testified in courtroom over the kiss she claims ex-football federation chief Luis Rubiales gave with out her consent after Spain’s victory within the Women’s World Cup final summer season.

Hermoso spoke at a Madrid courtroom behind closed doorways to a decide who’s analyzing proof together with tv footage earlier than deciding whether or not to approve the costs and advance the case to trial.

Judge Francisco de Jorge can also be listening to proof from different World Cup-winning gamers, coaches and federation officers earlier than making a choice.

As Hermoso left the courtroom, she stated: “All is in the hands of justice, that’s all I can say… the process will take its course.”

Based on a sexual consent legislation handed final 12 months – which eliminates the distinction between sexual harassment and assault – Rubiales might face a advantageous or a jail sentence of 1 to 4 years if discovered responsible, in line with the prosecutors’ workplace in Madrid.

The 33-year-old Spanish ahead filed a prison grievance of sexual assault and coercion in September over the kiss which occurred as gamers collected their medals following the 1-0 win over England within the closing in Sydney.

The fallout from the incident led to a boycott of Spanish gamers of each the ladies’s and males’s nationwide groups.

The case shook the sporting world and sparked protests in Spain and past demanding “a sport free of sexist violence”.

Rubiales finally resigned as president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on 10 September and was subsequently banned from all football-related actions for 3 years till after the lads’s 2026 World Cup.

The head coach of the Spanish ladies’s soccer crew, Jorge Vilda, was additionally sacked after the incident.

Read extra:
Rubiales ‘forcefully kissed England participant’ after closing
Spain and Sweden groups unite as kissing scandal rumbles on

Hermoso has repeatedly stated the kiss was not consensual and that she felt “vulnerable and a victim of aggression”.

Rubiales, 46, has at all times denied any wrongdoing and claimed the participant consented to a “peck”.

Following his resignation, the previous chief attributed the kiss to “great joy” with out “sexual connotation”, including the act was “normal in our country”.

He stated if the Spanish males’s crew had gained the trophy there could be “no doubt about it” – he would have kissed them too.