Members of Spain’s women’s national team have testified in a Madrid court this week as the trial over Luis Rubiales’ forced kiss on Jenni Hermoso at the 2023 Women’s World Cup final begins.
Rubiales, the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, has been accused of sexual assault and coercion when he kissed Hermoso, one of the members of the World Cup-winning team, during the trophy presentation in Sydney, Australia. Hermoso, her teammates, and family members have described the event as a “stain” on an otherwise momentous occasion and also detailed a campaign to keep her quiet in the hours after the incident.
Prosecutors argue that Rubiales should be imprisoned for a year for sexual assault and another 18 months for coercion.
How did the controversy begin?
Hermoso was congratulated by several dignitaries as she made her way to collect her World Cup winner’s medal on Aug. 20, 2023, when Rubiales forcibly kissed her. Almost immediately, the incident sparked outrage globally from members of the women’s soccer community and many outside it, including in Spain.
Many called for Rubiales’ resignation, especially when considering the allegations of sexism and poor working conditions that Spain women’s national team players had leveled at the federation the previous year. Rubiales was suspended by FIFA on Aug. 26, 2023, and he finally resigned on Sept. 10, though legal ramifications for his actions have loomed over him since. He was also briefly detained by Spanish authorities in April 2024 in relation to an investigation into corruption at the federation during his time as president.
Jorge Vilda, the head coach of Spain’s World Cup-winning team, was also a central figure in the controversy. He was fired on Sept. 5, 2023, nearly a year after he was accused of fostering a toxic workplace, and he and Rubiales were allies during that tumultuous time.
What was said in court?
Hermoso testified on Monday and detailed the events of the incident, as well as Rubiales’ attempt to save face in the coming days.
“I greeted the queen, I greeted her daughter,” Hermoso said as she recalled the trophy ceremony, per The BBC. “The next thing was meeting Rubiales. The next thing he did was to grab me by the ears and kiss me on the mouth. I didn’t hear or understand anything. A kiss on the lips is only given when I decide so.”
The player said her teammates first mocked her for the incident, but defender Irene Paredes put an end to it. Hermoso also said that she was later asked to consent to a statement issued by the federation, which she refused to do, and that Rubiales also asked her to record a video downplaying the incident. Hermoso’s brother, Rafael, added that Vilda pressured him to talk to his sister while everyone was making their way back to Spain.
“We were talking about soccer and the achievement of the team and suddenly he mentioned the kiss,” he said, per ESPN. “He said that the president wanted me to talk to Jenni to ask her to record the video together downplaying the kiss because that would be the best thing for everyone. I told him that I was not going to try to convince her to do something that I also don’t agree with.”
Paredes recalled the treatment her teammate faced by federation officials in the days after the World Cup final. Alexia Putellas, another Spain international, said that the shock of the incident wore off after a celebratory trip to Ibiza.
“On the plane she was already very overwhelmed and telling us that they wouldn’t leave her alone, they wouldn’t stop,” Paredes said, per ESPN.
The incident took its toll on Hermoso, Paredes noted.
“Jenni was worried, she was upset,” she added. “I saw her cry as she told us this, because it was an issue that was weighing on her and what she wanted was to celebrate the triumph we had just achieved.”
Hermoso added that “no one came to ask me how I was” after the kiss and that she felt “completely abandoned by the federation,” which “stained one of the happiest days of my life.”
“There was no place for me to be crying or lying in the corner of the dressing room.”
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