Former Spanish F.A president Luis Rubiales told a court on Tuesday, that national women’s star footballer Jenni Hermoso gave her consent before he kissed her at the Women’s World Cup final in 2023.
Rubiales is on trial accused of sexual assault and attempting to coerce Hermoso into publicly saying the kiss had been consensual.
Giving evidence, Rubiales said he was “absolutely sure” the player gave permission for the kiss, adding: “In that moment it was something completely spontaneous.”
The incident occurred during the medal presentation ceremony after Spain’s World Cup win in Australia, triggering protests and calls for Rubiales’s resignation.
He denies any criminal wrongdoing.
Rubiales told the Spanish National Court that the kiss as “an act of affection” .
He was also asked if he was aware of the protocol against sexual harassment and sexual violence, to which he replied he was.
Hermoso previously told the court she had never given permission to be kissed and the incident had “stained one of the happiest days of her life”.
Hermoso said she was pulled aside soon after the kiss and asked to consent to a statement minimising the incident, which she refused to do.
Rubiales then asked her to record a video with him on the flight home because he was being accused of assault on social media, she told the court.
She said she had received death threats which prompted her to move her family to Mexico, where she now plays.
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