EPATeammates of Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso have given testimony in support of her account of feeling overwhelmed after being allegedly forcibly kissed by Spain’s former football chief Luis Rubiales.
Her teammates Irene Paredes, Laia Codina, and Alexia Putellas appeared at the trial of Mr Rubiales at National Court in Madrid in on Thursday, where he is accused of sexual assault and coercion.
Ms Putellas said Ms Hermoso had felt “overwhelmed” after the incident, while Ms Codina said she was “sad” and “not enjoying herself”.
Mr Rubiales kissed Ms Hermoso on the lips during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup medal ceremony in Australia, triggering protests and calls for his resignation. He denies any wrongdoing.
Jenni Hermoso told the court on Monday that she had never given permission to be kissed at the World Cup medal ceremony and felt “disrespected” as a woman.
Ms Putellas said she thought at the time that the incident had been something “fortuitous” and a “misunderstanding” but that later Ms Hermoso showed her a video and said she did not know how it occurred to Mr Rubiales to kiss her, according to local Spanish media.
The court heard from Ms Paredes that while on the bus to Sydney airport after the World Cup final, she told her teammates to stop making jokes about the incident, saying it was “serious”.
Ms Putellas said that Ms Hermoso was “overwhelmed” on the plane back to Spain.
“She started crying from exhaustion,” the Barcelona player added.
The 31-year-old said Ms Hermoso was asked to speak to Mr Rubiales on the plane and told her that she should “come out” and “deny that there was no consent” in the kiss.
“She was angry and she said that there was no need for him to explain the facts to her because she had experienced it, that she wasn’t going to do that,” Ms Putellas said.
Ms Codina told the trial that during the team celebration trip to the Spanish island of Ibiza, Ms Hermoso was “sad, she was not enjoying herself, far from it” even though it “should have been the best moment” of her life.
Three colleagues of Mr Rubiales are also on trial, accused of colluding in the alleged coercion: Jorge Vilda, coach of the World Cup-winning side, Rubén Rivera, the federation’s former head of marketing, and former sporting director, Albert Luque. They all deny the charges.
On Wednesday, the court heard that Mr Vilda spoke to Rafael Hermoso – brother of Jenni Hermoso – on the flight back to Spain, telling him that Mr Rubiales feared for his position, according to local Spanish media.
Mr Vilda asked him to speak to his sister about her making a video with Ms Rubiales that would downplay the kiss.
The coach warned that his sister could face “professional and personal consequences” if she did not cooperate, Rafael Hermoso said.
Speaking in court on Monday, Ms Hermoso said she and the then-president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation hugged and celebrated at the football event, saying that he then grabbed her “by the ears and kiss[ed] me on the mouth”.
“I didn’t hear or understand anything,” she said, adding that “a kiss on the lips is only given when I decide so”.
The footballer said she felt “completely abandoned by the federation”.
Prosecutors are calling for Mr Rubiales to receive a one-year prison sentence for sexual assault for the kiss. They are also calling for him to be given a sentence of a year-and-a-half for coercion, for allegedly trying to pressure Ms Hermoso into saying publicly that the kiss was consensual. Rubiales denies the charges.
The trial continues.
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