Spanish prosecutors have requested that Luis Rubiales be banned from moving within 500 meters of or contacting World Cup player Jenni Hermoso as he appeared in court for the first time for allegedly forcibly kissing the soccer player.
Rubiales, 46, was summoned to Madrid’s Audencia Nacional court, where he denied allegations of sexual assault and coercion made by Hermosa, the prosecutor leading the case said.
Prosecutors asked Judge Francisco de Jorge to consider issuing a temporary restraining order to ban Rubiales from coming within 500 meters of Hermoso or attempting to communicate with her, and also requiring him to check in with one person every 15 days to report to court to ensure that he does not flee the country.
The judge must decide whether these measures will be applied.
Rubiales, wearing a navy blue suit and white shirt, did not speak as he entered or exited the courthouse with his attorney. He testified before Judge Francisco de Jorge, who is leading the investigation into the kiss. Hermoso will also be called as a witness at a later date.
Spanish prosecutors formally accused Rubiales of sexual assault and coercion last week when he pressed them to speak out in his defense immediately after the scandal broke, according to Hermoso.
Prosecutors said Rubiales denied both allegations as he answered questions from the judge in an hour-long closed hearing.
Rubiales sparked outrage when he grabbed the midfielder and kissed her on the lips in front of horrified spectators after Spain beat England 1-0 in the World Cup final on August 20.
Spanish prosecutors have requested that Luis Rubiales (pictured leaving court today) be banned from coming within 500 meters of World Cup player Jenni Hermoso or contacting her as he appeared in court for the first time for allegedly violently attacking the footballer kissed
Rubiales, wearing a dark blue suit and white shirt, said nothing as he left the courthouse with his attorney
Carla Vall (centre), the lawyer for Spanish player Jenni Hermoso, smiles outside the court in Madrid after Rubiales appeared in court today
Five days after resigning as Spanish football boss, Rubiales faces sexual assault charges for forcibly kissing World Cup player Jenni Hermoso
Rubiales, who was then head of the Spanish football federation RFEF, has repeatedly insisted the kiss was consensual.
But Hermoso has said that wasn’t the case and that she felt like the “victim of an assault.”
Neither Rubiales nor his defense attorney Olga Tubau spoke to the media outside the National Court.
Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall i Duran said they were satisfied with the hearing.
“We can continue to claim that the kiss was not consented, which is what we said from the beginning,” Vall i Duran said.
“Thanks to the (images of the kiss), the whole world, the whole country, could see that there was no consent whatsoever. And we will prove that in court.”
Jude De Jorge on Monday admitted a lawsuit filed the previous week by prosecutors against Rubiales, in which he alleged “crimes of sexual assault” and “coercion.”
According to a recent reform of Spain’s penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category that includes all types of sexual violence.
Judge De Jorge will conduct the preliminary investigation into the allegations against Rubiales and will then decide whether the case should go to trial.
If Rubiales is found guilty of sexual assault, he could face a fine up to four years in prison, prosecutors’ sources said.
In their complaint, prosecutors said they added the coercion offense based on Hermoso’s statement, in which she said “she and those close to her were subjected to constant pressure from Luis Rubiales and his professional circle to justify and agree to his actions.” tolerate”.
The global excitement over the incident almost exceeded the Spanish World Cup winner’s victory celebrations.
After three weeks of refusing to resign over the kiss, Rubiales, who was suspended by FIFA on August 26, resigned late Sunday but continued to insist in a television interview with Britain’s Piers Morgan that the kiss was was consensual.
Rubiales appears in the Supreme Court in Madrid today to face charges of sexual assault
Rubiales, the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, was pictured arriving at the courthouse in Madrid this morning
The 46-year-old was summoned to Madrid’s Audiencia Nacional court, where he will appear before Judge Francisco de Jorge, who is leading the investigation
Former President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales arrives at the Supreme Court in Madrid today
“What we had was a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to and was driven by the emotion of the moment,” he said, describing the kiss as “100 percent non-sexual.”
He claimed anger over the kiss was due to a misunderstanding of Latin American culture and insisted he would have done the same to a male player.
Rubiales said: “We were both emotional.” We congratulated each other, I asked her: “Can I give you a quick kiss?” – which is normal in our country – I give her a quick kiss, I think she gave me one or given two slaps on the side and that’s it.
“Of course no intention, no sexual connotation or anything, just a moment of happiness, just great joy in that moment.”
At the hearing on Friday, new coach Montse Tome, the team’s first woman at the helm, will announce her squad for UEFA Women’s Nations League games against Sweden and Switzerland on September 22 and 26.
In a TalkTv interview with Piers Morgan, he claims the anger over “Kissgate” stems from a misunderstanding of Latin American culture
Rubiales is charged with sexual assault for kissing Spanish player Jennifer Hermoso on the lips without consent after Spain’s 1-0 win over England in the World Cup final on August 20
Their first task will be to persuade the 23 world champions to don the red jersey again after they and dozens of others said they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the top of the federation.
The players have not yet said what they will do following Rubiales’ resignation, although the situation has changed since the RFEF fired its controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his place and promised further internal reforms.
“We have had discussions. I don’t think there will be any problems,” Rafael del Amo, head of the RFEF women’s football committee, told Cope Radio on Tuesday.
“I think things will move forward.”
