Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales 'absolutely sure' kiss with Jenni Hermoso after World Cup win was consensual
11 February 2025, 15:23 | Updated: 11 February 2025, 15:53
Former Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales has said he was "absolutely sure" player Jenni Hermoso consented to him kissing her, a court has heard.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Rubiales is on trial in Madrid accused of sexual assault for kissing Hermoso on the lips after Spain won the Women's World Cup in Sydney, Australia in August 2023.
The 47-year-old is also charged with attempting to coerce Ms Hermoso into publicly saying the kiss was consensual.
He denies the charges.
Giving evidence today, the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation told the court that he asked Ms Hermoso if he could kiss her before it happened.
"When Jenny came up to me, she kind of made a face. We've known each other for a long time. Obviously, the kiss was because we became champions.
"She'd missed a penalty and with all the tension during the game, I said, 'forget about the penalty - we're champions and this is down to you. Without you, we wouldn't have done it'.
"And she hugged me very, very hard just below my armpits and lifted me off the ground.
"When I kind of hit the ground again, I said, '... can I give you a kiss?' and she said, 'okay'," he claimed.
A lip-reading expert who preceded Rubiales in court said that “without a margin of doubt” Rubiales had asked Hermoso “Can I give you a kiss?”, based upon footage he analysed in which the star striker’s face could not be seen.
His own lawyer asked him: “Did you take advantage of that moment of euphoria to satisfy a sexual desire?” He replied: “For God’s sake … Never.”
Admitting he made an error of judgment on the podium and that his behaviour was “not appropriate”, Rubiales said: “I screwed up. I should have had a more institutional role.”
Rubiales also said that the "law of physics" meant that he could not be "on top of her" during the kiss, as the prosecution framed the incident.
"My feet come off the ground, you'll see that. I do what I can to not fall over and lose my balance. Anybody, who knows anything about the law of physics knows that, you have to bend your knees in order to take off the ground," he said.
Rubiales has been charged with attempting to coerce Ms Hermoso - with the help of three other former soccer federation officials - into publicly saying the kiss was consensual.
The 47-year-old denied that he drafted a statement about the kiss, but said he did ask Ms Hermoso to jointly release a statement about the kiss - but she refused.
He said he did apologise to Ms Hermoso for the kiss in the days after and asked for forgiveness, saying he "got carried away by the emotion and euphoria".
Prosecutors are seeking a year for the alleged sexual assault and 18 months for the alleged coercing of the 34-year-old footballer to play down the incident.
Last week Hermoso told the opening day of the trial that she felt “disrespected” after a non-consensual kiss that “should not happen in any social or work setting”.
The scandal which followed the kiss eclipsed Spain's first women's World Cup victory and proved a catalyst for efforts by Spain's female players to expose sexism and achieve parity with male counterparts.
