The judge of the National Court sends Rubiales to the bench for the "non-consensual" kiss to Jenni Hermoso and the subsequent pressures

The judge of the National Court Francisco de Jorge has concluded the investigation into the former president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales and has concluded that there is sufficient evidence to put him on the bench for the non-consensual kiss of the player of the Spanish team Jennifer Hermoso after the World Cup final.

The magistrate also proposes to try Rubiales, along with the sports director of the men's team, Albert Luque, the former coach of the women's team Jorge Vilda and the former marketing manager of the Federation Rubén Rivera for the subsequent pressures to which he was subjected. the player to agree to hold a public demonstration stating that the kiss had been consensual.

In the order to move to an abbreviated procedure – equivalent to prosecution for more serious crimes – the judge concludes that the kiss on the player “was not consensual and was a unilateral and surprising initiative” by Rubiales..

The judge adds that “the erotic purpose or not or the state of euphoria and agitation experienced as a consequence of the extraordinary sporting triumph” are data whose legal consequences must be assessed in the trial.

The magistrate does not specify what specific crimes he considers committed, since that task corresponds to the accusations, which now have a period of 10 days to present their indictment.. The Prosecutor's Office of the National Court considers that the crimes of sexual assault and coercion had been committed. Both carry prison sentences, although depending on the nature of the facts, the Penal Code allows sentences to be reduced to fines.

The magistrate's account of what happened on August 20 indicates that Rubiales “held the player's head with both hands, at ear level, and in a surprising and unexpected way he placed a kiss on the player's lips, which “She was not aware of the defendant's intention to kiss her on the lips nor did she give her consent to do so.”. “Jennifer Hermoso,” he continues, “disconcerted and surprised by the unexpected kiss on the lips, she did not have time to react.”.

Discomfort “increasing”

He adds that Hermoso tried to downplay its importance at first and continue celebrating the team's historic triumph.. However, as the hours went by, “the euphoria of the triumph gave way to discomfort and the feeling of having been offended by the action reported, discomfort that increased due to pressure from Rubiales and his close circle to publicly express that the kiss had been consensual.”

Regarding the conduct of the other three investigated, he considers that there are indications of a concerted action of the three, agreed with Luis Rubiales, “to break the will of Jennifer Hermoso Fuentes and get her to agree to record a video in which she said that the kiss had been consensual”. These facts could involve a crime connected to that of non-consensual kissing.

According to the order, the pressure to which the player was subjected created a situation of “anxiety and intense stress” in Jennifer Hermoso.

The resolution specifies that on the flight back to Spain, Rubiales tried to get Hermoso to agree to make a public demonstration with him to say that the kiss had been consensual, to which the player refused, expressing her discomfort..

After asking his technical team for advice, Rubiales “asked Jorge Vilda Rodríguez to speak with the soccer player's brother to convince her” to participate in the exculpatory video.. Vilda looked for her brother on the plane, warning him that if her sister did not agree, “his refusal would have negative consequences for her and she would experience harm to her professional career as a soccer player.”

In Spain

Once in Spain, and at the request of Rubiales, Rubén Rivera, marketing manager of the Federation and in charge of the logistics of the team's trip to Ibiza, asked Hermoso, “repeatedly and persistently” to speak by phone with the person responsible for the integrity of the entity. He also insisted that she should participate in the video, to which the soccer player responded that she did not want to talk about the matter.

Despite Hermoso's clear refusal, with an expression of his exhaustion, Rubén Rivera repeatedly insisted that he talk to Albert Luque, also with the intention of insisting that he participate in the video.. Jennifer Hermoso responded to Luque on WhatsApp, again refusing to speak with him. After his refusal, Rivera insisted again through a friend of Hermoso's to convince her that she had to talk to Luque.

Given the repeated refusals, Luque went to the hotel to force the player to talk to him to convince her to participate in the video.. He insisted on WhatsApp to the player and also personally to Jennifer's friend to talk to him.

Finally, faced with the emphatic refusal, Luque sent a WhatsApp message to Hermoso's friend, “insisting on his request for help” to justify Rubiales' behavior.. In that message he expressed his anger, “accusing her of being a bad person, wishing her to be very alone in life and announcing that he will be happy if that happens.”