The judge of the National Court investigating the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales for the kiss on the mouth that he gave to the player Jennifer Hermoso at the World Cup trophy presentation in Sydney has summoned witnesses to testify. to four positions in the institution.
Fiscal sources have confirmed to the Europa Press agency that the head of the central investigative court number 1, Francisco de Jorge, has called the RFEF Marketing director, Rubén Rivera, to court; to the director of Integrity, Miguel García Caba; to the press officer of the women’s team, Patricia Pérez -who has not traveled with the team to Sweden-, and to the director of the men’s team, Albert Luque.
It should be remembered that the lieutenant prosecutor of the National Court, Marta Durántez, asked Rubiales about five people during the interrogation before the judge held within the framework of the case being followed for alleged crimes of coercion and sexual assault.
The sources consulted then explained that the public ministry tried to find out if those five people, including the former women’s team coach, Jorge Vilda, and the aforementioned Luque and Rivera, had tried to coerce the player after the kiss.
After the interrogation, the instructor agreed at the request of the prosecution that Rubiales could not communicate with the player during the investigation of the open case, also prohibiting him from approaching her within 200 meters.
According to prosecutors’ sources, Rubiales denied before the judge that there was coercion towards the senior player and her entourage, as well as that there was a lack of consent in the kiss on the mouth that he gave her. The former president of the Federation answered questions from all parties during the nearly 45 minutes that his statement as an investigator lasted.
It was last September 12 when the judge summoned Rubiales. At that time, the magistrate admitted the complaint filed by the prosecution for the crimes of sexual assault and coercion against him for the kiss on the mouth.
The magistrate agreed to the first steps in this procedure, including obtaining from RTVE the video or videos that they have in their files that record the moment from all angles in which the defendant kisses the complainant, as well as the minutes immediately before and after. to the event related to the celebration of the victory of the women’s soccer team.
In addition, he requested from the newspaper El País the video of the celebration in the locker room that it has on its website and from the newspaper As for the moments of the kiss and any others related to the events. For his part, the instructor requested a video of the celebration on the Spanish women’s soccer team bus from the newspaper La Vanguardia.
