The judge of the National Court Francisco de Jorge has proposed judging the former president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales for the “non-consensual” kiss of the Spanish national team player Jennifer Hermoso after the final of the last World Cup, held on August 20 in Sydney (Australia), as reported by the National Court.
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 marketing manager of the Federation Rubén Rivera for the subsequent pressures to which the player was subjected. to agree to hold a public demonstration stating that the kiss had been consensual.
The judge of the National Court adds that the erotic purpose or not or the state of euphoria and agitation experienced as a consequence of the extraordinary sporting triumph are elements whose consequence and legal consequences must be assessed in the oral trial before the body in charge of the prosecution.
The instructor explains that at this procedural moment his function is limited to appreciating that there is sufficient evidence of the commission of the events narrated in his record and that these events are criminally relevant, making an accusation perfectly sustainable.
For the magistrate, it is not necessary to make a detailed qualification or specify the specific criminal types, since it is enough to assess that in the most severe of the possible classifications they would not exceed the scope of penalties that fall within the abbreviated procedure. In this case, he indicates that the kiss on the lips “affects the sphere of intimacy reserved for sexual relations, particularly in the context of two adults.”
Regarding the conduct of the other three investigated, he considers that there are indications of the existence of a concerted action of the three, agreed with Luis Rubiales, “to break the will of Jennifer Hermoso Fuentes and get her to agree to record a video in which “said that the kiss had been consensual.” These facts, according to the judge, could constitute a criminal offense related to the main crime indirectly attributed to Luis Rubiales, even regardless of whether it could, eventually, have the nature of a minor crime, something that is not prejudged in this order.
The resolution gives an account of what happened on the day of the events and details that on August 20, 2023, in Sydney, on the occasion of the awarding of medals to the players of the Spanish team, and at the time when Jennifer Hermoso received the protocol greeting and congratulations from the president of the Federation, Rubiales held the player’s head with both hands, at the level of her ears, “and in a surprising and unexpected way he placed a kiss on the player’s lips, which was not “She was aware of the defendant’s intention to kiss her on the lips nor did she give her consent to do so.”
Jennifer Hermoso, bewildered and surprised by the unexpected kiss on the lips, did not have time to react. According to the judge’s story, Hermoso tried to downplay its importance at first and continue celebrating the team’s historic triumph. However, as the hours went by, she continues to explain, the euphoria of the triumph gave way to discomfort and the feeling of having been offended by the action reported, discomfort that increased due to pressure from Rubiales and his close circle to publicly stated that the kiss had been consensual.
The story explains that on the flight back to Spain, Rubiales tried to get Jennifer Hermoso to agree to make a public demonstration with him to say that the kiss had been consensual, to which the player refused, expressing her discomfort. After asking her technical team for advice, the defendant asked Jorge Vilda Rodríguez to speak with the soccer player’s brother to convince her to participate in making a video with the intended content. Vilda then looked for her brother on the plane and, in the course of the conversation, warned him that if her sister did not agree to participate in the video, her refusal would have negative consequences for her and she would experience harm in her professional career as a soccer player. .
Once in Spain, and at the request of Rubiales, Rubén Rivera, marketing manager of the Federation and in charge of the logistics of the team’s trip to Ibiza, asked Jennifer Hermoso, repeatedly and persistently, to speak by phone with the responsible for the integrity of the entity. Rivera, always according to the judge’s story, insisted that she should participate in the video exonerating Rubiales, to which the athlete informed her that she did not want to talk about this topic.
Despite Hermoso’s clear refusal, with an expression of his exhaustion, Rubén Rivera repeatedly insisted that he talk to Albert Luque, also with the intention of insisting that he participate in the video. Jennifer Hermoso responded to Luque on WhatsApp, again refusing to speak with him. After his refusal, Rivera insisted again through a friend of Hermoso’s to convince her that she had to talk to Luque.
Given the repeated refusals, Luque showed up at the hotel trying to force Jennifer to talk to him to convince her to participate in the video. He insisted through WhatsApp to the player and also personally to Jennifer’s friend to talk to him.
Finally, in the face of the emphatic refusal, Albert Luque sent a WhatsApp message to Jennifer’s friend, insisting on his request for help to justify Rubiales’ behavior. In that message he expressed her anger, “accusing her of being a bad person, wishing her that she finds herself very alone in her life and announcing that she will be happy if that happens.” According to the order, the pressures to which the player was subjected created a situation of anxiety and intense stress in Jennifer Hermoso.
The resolution agrees to notify the Prosecutor’s Office and the accused persons so that they can request within ten days the opening of an oral trial, formulating a document of accusation or, where appropriate, the dismissal of the case.