MADRID (Reuters) – Former Spanish soccer federation boss Luis Rubiales told a court on Tuesday that he asked player Jenni Hermoso if he could kiss her before doing so after the World Cup victory in 2023.
Rubiales, 47, is accused of sexual assault and then attempting to coerce Hermoso – with the help of three other former soccer federation officials – into publicly saying the kiss on the lips at the 2023 World Cup awards ceremony in Australia had been consensual.
He has denied the charges insisting the kiss was consensual, while Hermoso has said it was not.
The ensuing scandal eclipsed Spain’s first women’s World Cup victory and proved a tipping point for efforts by Spain’s female players to expose sexism and achieve parity with male counterparts.
(Reporting by David Latona and Emma Pinedo, writing by Inti Landauro, editing by Charlie Devereux)
