Kissed by manager, Jenni Hermoso is heard in Madrid court

Striker Jenni Hermoso testified this Tuesday in the case that investigates the kiss that the then president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, gave the player, at the end of the Women’s World Cup, in August last year. Discreetly, she presented herself to a Madrid court.

“Everything went well. The legal process will take its course. I would like to thank you for the support that many of you have given me”, the athlete briefly commented as she left the court. She was at the scene in the company of her lawyers.

The testimony was made behind closed doors. Spanish media said Hermoso asked the judge to keep his presence in court as discreet as possible. She arrived wearing a gray coat and waved to journalists before entering the courtroom through one of its main entrances.

Hermoso was expected to reiterate in court her allegations that the kiss was not consensual and that Rubiales and her team tried to pressure her and her family to forget the incident, which marked the World Cup award ceremony in Australia.

Public prosecutors in Spain have accused Rubiales of sexual assault and coercion, alleging he tried to convince Hermoso and his relatives to publicly downplay the kiss. This Tuesday, the judge in the case will also hear statements from other players, coaches and directors of the Spanish federation, before deciding whether to start a trial.

Rubiales has already denied any wrongdoing to the judge who imposed a restraining order on him not to contact Hermoso. He resigned as president of the RFEF and also as vice-president of UEFA, given the strong global repercussion of the case, mainly after pressure from FIFA, which imposed suspension on the then director.