Following the conclusion of the FIFA Women’s World Cup final, Jennifer Hermoso and Luis Rubiales, President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, celebrate together. Photograph by Reuters.
Luis Rubiales, who formerly served as the head of the Spanish Football Federation, is required to make an appearance in court on Friday in connection with the inquiry concerning his violent kiss on Jenni Hermoso’s lips following the conclusion of the Women’s World Cup.
A court in Madrid issued a statement on Tuesday saying that Rubiales has been ordered to appear before an examining magistrate at 1200 hours local time (1000 hours GMT) “to be heard as an accused” and to reply to claims of “sexual assault.” The statement was issued by the court.
On August 20, following Spain’s victory in Sydney, the 46-year-old Rubiales gave Hermoso a kiss. Hermoso claims that the kiss was not consensual, while Rubiales maintains that it was.
On Monday, Judge Francisco de Jorge of the National Court admitted a charge that had been brought against Rubiales the previous week by Spanish prosecutors over alleged “crimes of sexual assault and “coercion.”
A non-consensual kiss can now be considered sexual assault because to a recent change that was made to the Spanish penal code. Sexual assault is a criminal category that groups together all different kinds of sexual abuse.
According to information obtained from the office of the public prosecutor, the consequences for kissing someone against their will can range from a fine to a sentence of up to four years in prison.
On Sunday, Rubiales resigned as president of the Spanish Football Federation, although he has continued to defend himself in the controversy surrounding the kiss.
In an open letter, Rubiales stated, “I have faith in the truth, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that it prevails.”
Hermoso, 33, who plays for the Mexican club Pachuca, has said that the unwelcome kiss left her feeling “vulnerable and like the victim of an assault.” In a statement on social media, she described it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part.” Hermoso has stated that the kiss left her feeling “vulnerable and like the victim of an assault.”
She also accused Rubiales of pressing her to speak out in his defense immediately after the furor over the kiss emerged, which the prosecution said may be constituted a crime of coercion. She stated that Rubiales had pressured her to speak out in his defense immediately after the furor over the kiss erupted.