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When the president of the Spanish Football Federation kissed one of his national team’s players after they had won the 2023 Women’s World Cup, it was a moment that stunned the wider world. For the Spain forward Jenni Hermoso and her team-mates, that win should have been the highlight of their sporting lives. Spain had never won the Women’s World Cup before. Instead, their achievements were overshadowed by the behaviour of Luis Rubiales and those around him.
In the three weeks that followed, Hermoso was threatened with legal action by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Rubiales resigned (eventually), the team’s head coach Jorge Vilda was sacked, and 81 Spanish players said they would refuse to represent their country.
Starting on Monday, and across 13 days in court, Rubiales will stand trial for alleged sexual assault and coercion of Hermoso. He maintains that the kiss was consensual, while the prosecutors will argue the opposite and that attempts were made after the incident to force Hermoso into agreeing with him.
Also on trial are Vilda, the team’s World Cup-winning head coach, Albert Luque, the former sporting director of the Spain men’s team and a former Newcastle United forward, and Ruben Rivera, the former marketing director of the RFEF.
After Spain beat England 1-0 on August 20, 2023, at Sydney’s Stadium Australia to win their country’s first Women’s World Cup, thanks to a goal by left-back Olga Carmona, the victorious players were presented with their medals by the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino. Further along the podium stood Rubiales, who congratulated each Spain player as they passed. When Hermoso arrived, the pair appeared to share an embrace, with the federation president grabbing her head with his two hands, then kissing her on the lips. Soon afterwards, while watching a video of the kiss with her team-mates in an Instagram live broadcast, Hermoso said: “Yeah (it happened), but I didn’t like it, but what could I do? Look at me.”
The kiss and hours afterwards:
Although most Spanish media did not immediately process the gravity of what had happened, criticism of Rubiales’ actions mounted after the game — including from Spain’s then-equality minister (now member of European Parliament) Irene Montero, who described it on X as “sexual violence”. “No demos por hecho que dar un beso sin consentimiento es algo “que pasa”. Es una forma de violencia sexual que sufrimos las mujeres de forma cotidiana y hasta ahora invisible, y que no podemos normalizar. Es tarea de toda la sociedad. El consentimiento en el centro. Solo si es sí”.
Who are the other three accused?
Vilda had been part of the coaching setup for Spain’s women’s team since 2009 and enjoyed great success. He was appointed senior coach in 2015 and Rubiales made him the RFEF’s women’s sporting director in 2018.
Rubiales sided with Vilda when players complained before the 2023 World Cup and offered him a new €500,000-a-year contract in the wake of his “I will not resign” speech.
How soon will we know the verdict?
After the testimony is heard, Judge Clemente could take days or weeks to return a verdict.
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