Three members of Spain's women's football team, Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes and Misa Rodríguez have confirmed to the judge of the National Audience criminal court that the former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales coerced their teammate Jenni Hermoso into declaring that the kiss he gave her on the mouth was with her consent, according to judicial sources present at the statements of the three players as witnesses, this Monday.
In addition to the crime of coercion, the judge is also investigating Rubiales for a crime of sexual assault for the kiss on the mouth that he gave the professional footballer, when he was officially congratulating her for winning the World Cup, in Australia, on 20th August. The former football administrator affirmed that the kiss was agreed to by the player, in the moments after the Spanish team won the World Cup. Hermoso, who lives in Mexico, denied this in a declaration at the Spanish Public Prosecutor's Office and has yet to appear before the National Audience judge to ratify her statement. It was the prosecution service who lodged the complaint against the former president of the RFEF and specified the two crimes.
Security for players
The two Barça players who testified this Monday, Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes, did so via video conference from a court in Barcelona, where they received exceptional protection from the Mossos d'Esquadra police who provided them with a high-security escort in the Ciutat de Justicia court complex.
Putellas, the senior player who published the Se Acabó - "It's over" - statement by the players voicing their determined opposition to discrimination against women in football, was the one who testified the longest before the judge: for an hour. Paredes, half an hour.
Misa Rodríguez, player for Real Madrid, was the first of the three to testify, and she did so in person, before the judge, in Madrid.
These footballers were also in line to receive their medals, close to their teammate, when the former president of the RFEF held Hermoso's face and kissed her.
"I'm sorry. I can't say anything," Putellas told reporters after making her statement, and protected by a cloud of plainclothes officers. The judge of Barcelona investigating court number 29 attended to the request from his National Audience colleague, in Madrid, witnessing and overseeing the video conference statements of the two Barça players .
Three more defendants
In addition to Rubiales, the National Audience judge, Francisco de Jorge, has also charged former women's national team coach Jorge Vilda and RFEF Marketing Director Rubén Rivera with the crime of coercion. These two have to testify on October 10th; while the sporting director of the men's team, Albert Luque, has been summoned for October 16th.
During this month of October the judge has also called more witnesses, including the coach of the Spanish men's football team, Luis de la Fuente; the former director of communication for the RFEF, Pablo García-Cuervo, whose contract was terminated last Friday; and the deputy director of this department, Enrique Yunta, among others.