Spain's ex-soccer boss Rubiales due in court in sex assault investigation
14/09/2023 23:00
By Emma Pinedo
MADRID, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Former Spanish soccer chief
Luis Rubiales will appear before a High Court judge on Friday
over a complaint of sexual assault stemming from his allegedly
unsolicited kiss on the lips of player Jenni Hermoso - an
incident that has triggered a furore over sexism in Spanish
sport and society.
The events of Aug. 20 eclipsed the national women team's
World Cup victory in Sydney and led to protests similar to the
Me Too movement, prompting other women to come forward with
reports of sexist treatment and assaults.
It also sent a shudder through the male-dominated ranks of
Spain's football establishment.
Rubiales, 46, has maintained that the kiss was mutual and
consensual. After weeks of resisting calls for him to step down
as president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF),
Rubiales, already suspended by FIFA, finally quit on Sept. 10.
But he remains unrepentant.
"I am a good person, that in a moment of maximum happiness,
with consent, asking beforehand...In truth, there can be no
other intention than the celebration and the joy itself," he
told British television interviewer Piers Morgan on Sunday.
He likened the celebratory atmosphere in Sydney to winning a
lottery or seeing a war ending, situations in which he said
"people don't ask permissions".
Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz has called his actions
"shameful" and said they showed that male chauvinsim was stil
systemic in Spanish society.
On Sept. 8, prosecutor Marta Durantez Gil filed a complaint
with the High Court against Rubiales after Hermoso told
prosecutors that Rubiales kissed her on the mouth without her
consent while holding her head with both hands at the medals
ceremony.
The prosecutor added a possible crime of coercion after
Hermoso said she and her relatives were put under pressure by
Rubiales and his entourage to say that she "justified and
approved what happened".
Judge Francisco de Jorge is in charge of an investigation
that has to precede any formal charges under Spanish law, and
will decide whether the case will go to trial. If it does, he
could face between one and four years imprisonment.
De Jorge has ordered several media, including state
broadcaster TVE, to send him footage of the incident and
subsequent videos such as one of the players celebrating on a
bus with Rubiales and referring to the kiss in what appeared to
be a light-hearted manner. The investigation could take several
months.
Friday's hearing is behind closed doors.
The legal case will also be a public test of the leftist
coalition government's flagship "Solo si es si" (Only yes is
yes) law that puts consent at the heart of sexual relations.
Many players, sports bodies and politicians have backed
Hermoso in a campaign coalescing around the hashtag #SeAcabó
(It’s Over) on social media, showing the nation's increasing
intolerance to abuse.
Spain's top 87 female players, including the 23 world
champions, have refused to play for the national team until
there are changes in the RFEF management line-up and style.
The RFEF has since sacked women's team coach Jorge Vilda,
appointing his assistant Montse Tome instead as the first woman
at its helm.
Striker Olga Carmona said this week that the players were
yet to determine if changes were enough for them to return to
the team.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo, editing by Andrei Khalip and Angus
MacSwan)
((emma.pinedo@thomsonreuters.com; +918 35 68 34;))