Spanish prosecutors have charged former soccer federation chief Luis Rubiales with sexual assault and coercion after a kiss he gave to national soccer player Jennifer Hermoso without her consent. The incident occurred during Spain’s World Cup victory last year.
Rubiales denies any wrongdoing and claims he had received consent from Hermoso. However, Hermoso has said that she did not consent to the kiss and felt disrespected by Rubiales. She has also spoken about receiving threats as a consequence of the incident.
The High Court in Madrid has accepted the case for trial, which will involve several individuals including the former coach of the women’s national team, Jorge Vilda, the team’s current sporting director, Albert Luque, and the federation’s head of marketing, Ruben Rivera. They are accused of coercing Hermoso into saying that the kiss was consensual.
The court has set a bail of 65,000 euros for Rubiales’ sexual assault charge and a separate joint bail of 65,000 euros for Rubiales, Vilda, Luque, and Rivera for the coercion charges. The trial will address the allegations of sexual assault and coercion against Rubiales in relation to the unsolicited kiss of Jennifer Hermoso.