Madrid: Spain's former football chief Luis Rubiales goes on trial on Monday over the forced kiss he gave star forward Jenni Hermoso with the player scheduled to take the stand. The year-old provoked worldwide outrage after he cupped Hermoso's head and gave her an unsolicited kiss after Spain beat England to win the Women's World Cup in Australia. Prosecutors are seeking two and a half years in prison for Rubiales, one year for sexual assault for the forced kiss and 18 months for allegedly coercing Hermoso, 34, to downplay the incident.
The kiss was given "unexpectedly and without the consent or acceptance of the player", prosecutors wrote in their indictment. Rubiales is scheduled to take the stand on February He has called the kiss an innocuous "peck between friends celebrating" and denied any coercion.
Among the accused alongside Rubiales are ex-women's national team coach Jorge Vilda and two former federation officials, Ruben Rivera and Albert Luque. They also stand accused of trying to coerce Hermoso with prosecutors seeking 18 months' jail against them. The scandal that rocked Spanish football and wrecked Rubiales' career broke on August 20, , moments after the women's national team had clinched World Cup glory in Sydney.
As Hermoso joined her teammates in collecting their winner's medals, Rubiales clasped her head and kissed her on the lips before letting her go with two slaps on the back. The act unleashed a public outcry at what critics deemed an abuse of power. A recent reform of the Spanish criminal code classifies a non-consensual kiss as sexual assault. Rubiales, who was already under investigation for alleged corruption in his role as federation head, finally gave into pressure and stepped down in September , two days after the start of a probe over the kiss.
He had been federation chief since In a recent Netflix documentary titled "Se acabo" "It's over" , which looks back at the players' anger after the scandal overshadowed their historic success, Hermoso revealed she cried following the kiss.
