The Prosecutor's Office requested this Wednesday a sentence of
two and a half years in prison
for the former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF)
Luis Rubiales
for the crimes of sexual assault and coercion in the case of the non-consensual kiss he gave to the player.
Jenni Hermoso
during the award ceremony as champions of the Australia-New Zealand 2023 World Cup, on August 20.
The Public Ministry has sent its provisional conclusions to the National Court, in which it also requested a sentence of one and a half years in prison for a crime of coercion for the former coach of the women's team,
Jorge Vilda
;
the marketing manager of the RFEF,
Rubén Rivera
, and the sports director of the men's team,
Albert Luque
.
In addition to the prison sentence, the prosecutor asks for Rubiales
to be disqualified from working in the sports field during the sentence
, two years of supervised release and the prohibition of communicating with the player and approaching her within 200 meters for four years. .
He also wants him to compensate the footballer with
50,000 euros
;
the same amount that he claims from the other three defendants, although in his case, jointly and severally.
This case, which has been instructed by a judge from the National Court, takes place outside the investigation into various contracts in the RFEF, such as the transfer of the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia, in which Rubiales is also being investigated in a court in Majadahonda ( Madrid).
A "surprise and without consent" action
The indictment of the lieutenant prosecutor of the Court,
Marta Durántez
, describes Rubiales' conduct that was "surprising and without consent or acceptance" of Jenni Hermoso when, during the World Cup medal ceremony, he "held her head" with both hands. and "kissed him on the lips."
Video
Luis Rubiales, who had already been involved in several controversies, grabbed Jenni Hermoso's face and kissed her on the mouth.</p><div> </div>
An action that triggered a wave of protests and that, apart from the criminal sphere, ended with Rubiales being disqualified by FIFA for three years.
It happened on August 20, at the Australia Stadium in Sydney, after the victory of the women's team at the World Cup, when Jenni Hermoso, who had just received her medal at the awards ceremony, received the protocol greeting and congratulations from the then president of the Federation, at which time he kissed her on the lips without her consent, the Prosecutor's Office emphasizes.
Harassment of Jenni Hermoso to justify the kiss
The Prosecutor's Office also accuses Rubiales of "constantly" and repeatedly pressuring the soccer player and her entourage to "justify and approve" the kiss he gave her "against her will" in the face of "the personal and professional consequences" to which he could face.
A "situation of harassment" for which he also blames the other three accused, "trusted people" of Rubiales who took up their positions "under his mandate" and whose "privileged situation in the RFEF" depended on the "luck" that this one would run.
Video
In the midst of the scandal generated by a kiss that the president of Spanish football gave to soccer player Jenni Hermoso, the leader stated in a fiery speech that he will not resign and that he is the victim of "a public execution" by "false feminism."
According to the prosecutor, the pressure began when they were leaving the locker room, still in full celebration, when Rubiales "urged" Jenni Hermoso to publicly declare that the kiss was consensual.
They continued on the bus, from where "he was forced to get off" to sign a statement written by the RFEF "by order" of Rubiales, whose "content he did not share" and which was sent to the media and also on the flight to Spain. , where the former federation president once again asked her to make a joint statement with him, to which she once again refused.
New way: pressure on family members
The Prosecutor's Office maintains that Jenni Hermoso's "repeated refusal" led Rubiales and his "trusted team" to use "another means": supposedly putting pressure on her relatives.
The letter states that Jorge Vilda tried to get the player's brother to convince her given the warning that, if she did not make the public statement, there would be "negative consequences for her."
Days later, on the trip to Ibiza of several players, the Prosecutor's Office maintains that Rubén Rivera went to the island and insisted that Jenni Hermoso speak with the person in charge of integrity at the RFEF, a body that had opened a file in which " "It was intended, by order" of Rubiales, "to exonerate him."
Video
The FIFA Appeal Committee confirmed on Friday the three-year suspension from football-related activities of the former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, for the forced kiss of international Jenni Hermoso.
Although the international refused and asked "to be left alone," the prosecutor accuses Rivera of continuing to insist and also trying to pressure a friend who was accompanying her so that Jenni Hermoso could speak with the fourth accused: Albert Luque.
According to the public ministry, he also went to Ibiza to get the player to participate in a video exonerating Rubiales.
She went to the hotel where she was staying and ended up sending several messages to her friend in which she accused the player of being a "bad person, wishing her to find herself very alone in life and announcing that she would be happy if that happened."
The harassment situation, says the prosecutor, stopped when Rubiales was provisionally suspended by FIFA on August 26.
A few days later, on September 10, and after previously ensuring that he was not going to resign, he ended up leaving his position.
With information from EFE