Luis Rubiales, former president of the Spanish Football Federation, testified in court that the now-infamous kiss he shared with Jenni Hermoso during the 2023 World Cup victory celebration was consensual. He contradicted Hermoso's account, claiming she had agreed to the kiss.
This was the day Spain - but most of all Jenni Hermoso - had been waiting for. The day in court when Luis Rubiales would have to start answering questions about the kiss the player says tarnished the high point of Spanish women's football. Amid the euphoria of the 2023 World Cup final, did the man who once held so much power in football abuse that power with the world watching? No, Rubiales testified, after his trial was shown the kiss on the Sydney podium after Spain's victory over England.
'I've kissed many footballers,' Rubiales said, while being unable to recall needing to reassure a male player in that manner after missing a penalty, as Hermoso did in the final. This was not a sexual assault, he insisted, but a moment of shared joy between friends. 'She squeezed me very hard under the armpits, lifted me up, and when I went back down I asked her if I can give her a kiss and she said 'OK',' he said. This contradicted Hermoso's insistence last week in the same courtroom that no consent was given to Rubiales. An expert on lip reading brought in by the defence to verify whether Rubiales asked for a kiss had their claims of expertise called into question due to a lack of formal qualification. And when the focus turned to the sexual harassment protocols for World Cup teams, Rubiales insisted he was not in breach. 'It wasn't in the (code) that someone who asks for permission and that was given after winning a World Cup or in any other circumstances would it be forbidden to give a kiss,' he claimed. 'It is only forbidden forced sexual violence, and this wasn't.' But this is a case that goes beyond a kiss. Rubiales is alleged to have attempted to coerce Hermoso into defending him, asking her to record a video. 'This was a big crisis … and we had to as quickly as possible, get on top of that and respond,' he said. 'She said to me that she didn't want to, she wanted to celebrate the World Cup win,' Rubiales said. 'That she had said it well enough in the statement. I said I was grateful for that. So seeing that she didn't want to, I did it alone.' For weeks Rubiales clung on to power before being forced to resign as Spanish federation president and a vice president at European governing body UEFA. In court there was less of the bravado of 2023 when he attacked a witch hunt bringing him down. And there was even some regret over his conduct. 'I recognised I'd made a mistake, I acted like a player ... and I should have adopted a more institutional role,' Rubiales said. 'I apologised because of my conduct. I said that it was wrong. I said I got carried away by the emotion and euphoria. I shouldn't have done that.'Read more:Rubiales 'sure' World Cup kiss was consensualRubiales trial begins over World Cup kiss But it did not, Rubiales said, constitute criminal wrongdoing. And as he left court after finishing giving evidence a scrum of reporters sought more answers. Rubiales did his talking inside the court where the trial is due to continue on Wednesday with three co-defendants to give evidence, including former coach Jorge Vilda. All four men deny wrongdoing
SPANISH FOOTBALL LUIS RUBIALES JENNI HERMOSO WORLD CUP SEXUAL HARASSMENT TRIAL
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