The Prosecutor’s Office requests a sentence of two and a half years in prison for the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales for the crimes of sexual assault and coercion in the case regarding the non-consensual kiss he gave to the player Jenni Hermoso after the final of the Women’s World Cup in Sydney, Australia, in August 2023.
The public ministry has sent its provisional conclusions to the National Court, in which, in addition, requests a sentence of one and a half years in prison for a crime of coercion to the former coach of the women’s team, Jorge Vilda; the marketing manager of the RFEF, Ruben Riveraand the sports director of the men’s team, Albert Luque.
In addition to the prison sentence, The prosecutor asks for Rubiales to be disqualified from working in the sports field during the time of sentence, two years of probation and the ban on communicating with the player and approaching her within 200 meters for four years.
He also wants that compensates to the international with 50,000 euros, equivalent to $54,000 dollars; the same amount claimed from the other three defendants, although in its case, jointly and severally.
This case, which has been instructed by a judge from the National Court, takes place outside the investigation into various contracts in the RFEF, such as the transfer of the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia, in which Rubiales is also being investigated in a court in Majadahonda ( Madrid).
A “surprise and without consent” action
The indictment of the lieutenant prosecutor of the Court, Marta Durántez, describes conduct by Rubiales that was “surprising and without the consent or acceptance” of Jenni Hermoso when, during the World Cup medal presentation, He “held her head” with both hands and “kissed her on the lips.”
An action that triggered a wave of protests and that, apart from the criminal sphere, ended with Rubiales being disqualified by FIFA for three years.
It happened on August 20, at the Australia Stadium in Sydney, after the victory of the women’s team at the World Cup, when Jenni Hermoso, who had just received her medal at the awards ceremony, received the protocol greeting and congratulations from the then president of the Federation, at which time he kissed her on the lips without her consent, the Prosecutor’s Office emphasizes.
Harassment of Jenni Hermoso to justify the kiss
The Prosecutor’s Office also accuses Rubiales of “constantly” and repeatedly pressuring the soccer player and her entourage to “justify and approve” the kiss he gave her “against her will” in the face of “the personal and professional consequences” to which he could face.
A “situation of harassment” for which he also blames the other three defendants, “trusted people” of Rubiales who assumed their positions “under his mandate” and whose “privileged situation in the RFEF” depended on the “luck” that this one would run.
According to the prosecutor, the pressure began when they were leaving the locker room, still in full celebration, when Rubiales “urged” Jenni Hermoso to publicly declare that the kiss was consensual.
They continued on the bus, from where “he was forced to get off” to sign a statement written by the RFEF “by order” of Rubiales, whose “content he did not share” and which was sent to the media and also on the flight to Spain. , where the former federation president once again asked her to make a joint statement with him, to which she once again refused.
New way: pressure on family members
The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that Jenni Hermoso’s “repeated refusal” led Rubiales and her “trusted team” to use “another route”: supposedly putting pressure on her relatives.
The letter states that Jorge Vilda tried to get the player’s brother to convince her given the warning that, if she did not make the public statement, there would be “negative consequences for her.”
Days later, on the trip to Ibiza of several players, the Prosecutor’s Office maintains that Rubén Rivera went to the island and insisted that Jenni Hermoso speak with the person in charge of integrity at the RFEF, a body that had opened a file in which ” It was intended, by order” of Rubiales, “his exculpation.”
Although the international refused and asked “to be left alone,” the prosecutor accuses Rivera of continuing to insist and also trying to pressure a friend who was accompanying her so that Jenni Hermoso could speak with the fourth accused: Albert Luque.
According to the public ministry, he also went to Ibiza to get the player to participate in a video exonerating Rubiales. She went to the hotel where she was staying and ended up sending several messages to her friend in which she accused the player of being a “bad person, wishing her to be very alone in her life and announcing that she would be happy for her.” “if that happened.”
The harassment situation, says the prosecutor, stopped when Rubiales was provisionally suspended by FIFA on August 26. A few days later, on September 10, and after previously ensuring that he was not going to resign, he ended up leaving his position.
*With information from EFE.
Keep reading:
· Justice of Spain proposes to try Luis Rubiales for the non-consensual kiss of Jenni Hermoso
· Jennifer Hermoso said that she has received death threats due to the Rubiales case
· Luis Rubiales: “On the street everyone is with me, especially the women”