Luis Rubiales assures that he did not put pressure on Jenni Hermoso in the “forced kiss” affair

Luis Rubiales defended himself on Wednesday in an interview with La Sexta channel on the “forced kiss” affair.

The former president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales assured, Wednesday April 3 in an interview broadcast on the channel La Sexta, that he had never exerted pressure on the player Jenni Hermoso in the so-called “forced kiss” affair. “, affirming moreover not “figure out“that the facts can be qualified as sexual assault.”No one will be able to demonstrate that a member of the Federation has committed an act of coercion” on Jenni Hermoso, also added Luis Rubiales.

The prosecution recently demanded two and a half years in prison against the former strongman of Spanish football, paving the way for a probable trial. This requisition is based on a one-year sentence for sexual assault, for the kiss on the lips imposed on Jenni Hermoso just after Spain’s victory in the World Cup final, and a year and a half in prison for coercion, an offense which refers to the “pressure” exerted on the player to convince her to say that the kiss was consensual. Three other people from the Federation are being prosecuted in this case for the same offense of coercion.

Luis Rubiales arrested Wednesday in Madrid

“I can’t understand how this could be considered sexual assault.“, also said Luis Rubiales. The kiss took place “after winning a World Cup, between two friends, said Ms. Hermoso, who shared a relationship of trust and friendship“, he says. Assuring again that he asked Jenni Hermoso if he could kiss her before doing so, Luis Rubiales insisted: “A sexual attacker doesn’t ask the question, and there was no sexual context.”

According to Luis Rubiales, Jenni Hermoso initially gave no importance to this kiss, before changing her mind under pressure. “I have a clear conscience, things have taken exaggerated proportions“, he concluded.

Luis Rubiales was arrested by Spanish police a few hours before this interview aired. He is under investigation for alleged crimes of business corruption, unfair administration, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization. For her part, Jenni Hermoso, who despite herself became a global symbol of the fight against sexual violence, said she “felt vulnerable and victim (…) of an impulsive and sexist act, inappropriate and without any consent on (her) part“.