A former Spanish soccer federation chief, Luis Rubiales, has been charged with sexual assault and coercion for allegedly kissing national soccer player Jennifer Hermoso without her consent following Spain’s World Cup victory last year. The Public Ministry has accused Rubiales of sexual assault for the unsolicited kiss he gave Hermoso.
Rubiales has denied any wrongdoing, claiming he had received consent from Hermoso for the kiss. However, Hermoso has stated that she did not consent to the kiss and did not feel respected by Rubiales. She has also mentioned receiving threats after the incident, which she described as something she could never get used to.
In addition to Rubiales, the former coach of the women’s national team Jorge Vilda, the team’s current sporting director Albert Luque, and the federation’s head of marketing Ruben Rivera will also stand trial. They are accused of coercing Hermoso into saying that the kiss was consensual. The High Court has set a bail of 65,000 euros for Rubiales’ sexual assault charge and a separate joint bail for all four accused individuals for the coercion charge.