Jenni Hermoso’s teammates have provided testimony to back up their claim that she experienced overwhelming overwhelm after being allegedly forced to kiss by former Spain’s football chief Luis Rubiales.
Her teammates Irene Paredes, Laia Codina, and Alexia Putellas appeared at the trial of Mr Rubiales in Madrid on Thursday, where he is accused of sexual assault and coercion.
Ms Putellas said Ms Hermoso had felt “overwhelmed” after the incident, while Ms Codina said she was “sad” and “not enjoying herself”.
Ms Hermoso had told the court on Monday she had never given permission to be kissed at the World Cup medal ceremony and felt “disrespected” as a woman.
According to local Spanish media, Ms. Putellas claimed that at the time, the incident was “fortuitous” and “misunderstanding,” but that Ms. Hermoso later showed her a video and claimed she had no idea how Mr. Rubiales came to kiss her.
Ms. Paredes told the court that she told her teammates to stop making fun of the incident, calling it “serious” while taking a bus to the airport after the World Cup final.
Ms Putellas said that Ms Hermoso was “overwhelmed” on the plane back to Spain.
“She started crying from exhaustion”, the Barcelona player added.
The 31-year-old claims that Ms. Hermoso was asked to speak with Mr. Rubiales on board, who advised her to “come out” and “deny that there was no consent” during the kiss.
She reportedly complained that she felt no need to hear from him because she had already experienced it and that she wasn’t going to do that.
Three colleagues of Mr Rubiales are also on trial, accused of colluding in the alleged coercion: Jorge Vilda, coach of the World Cup-winning side, Rubén Rivera, the federation’s former head of marketing, and former sporting director, Albert Luque. They all deny the charges.
According to local Spanish media, Mr. Vilda reported to the court that he had spoken with Rafael Hermoso, Jenni Hermoso’s brother, on the return flight to Spain, about how worried he was about Mr. Rubiales’ position.
Mr. Vilda inquired about Ms. Rubiales making a video that would downplay the kiss to his sister.
The coach warned that his sister could face “professional and personal consequences” if she did not cooperate, Rafael Hermoso said.
Ms. Hermoso claimed that he grabbed her “by the ears and kissed] me on the mouth” after claiming in court on Monday that she and the then-president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation had embraced and celebrated the football game.
“I didn’t hear or understand anything”, she said, adding that “a kiss on the lips is only given when I decide so”.
The footballer claimed that the federation had completely abandoned her.
For the kiss, Mr. Rubiales should receive a one-year prison sentence, according to the prosecution.
They are also urging him to serve a year and a half for coercion because he allegedly attempted to pressure Ms Hermoso into saying in public that the kiss was consensual.
Source: BBC
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