Luis Rubiales has accused Jenni Hermoso of ‘false feminism’ after the World Cup ‘kissgate’ scandal that could mean a two and a half year prison sentence.
The former president of the Spanish Football Federation faces charges of sexual assault over the “unwanted” kiss and coercion linked to his alleged attempts to get Hermoso to speak in his defense.
Rubiales, who was detained upon his return to Spain from the Dominican Republic on Wednesday as part of an unrelated corruption investigation, spoke about ‘kissgate’ in an interview with broadcaster La Sexta.
Rubiales, 46, kissed Hermoso on the lips as she approached to receive her medal following Spain’s victory over England in the Women’s World Cup final in August last year.
‘I have a clear conscience. Things have gone crazy. A small thing has happened to devour a person,” she said.
The former president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, took advantage of a television interview to accuse Jenni Hermoso of “false feminism”, as she could face two and a half years in prison for the “kissgate” scandal.
Rubiales has been accused of sexual assault for kissing Hermoso on the lips after Spain won the Women’s World Cup last year and for allegedly forcing her to defend him afterwards.
Spanish international footballer Hermoso photographed arriving at Madrid court in January
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‘I wanted to be calm and get out of the spotlight. False feminism? What I said is said.
‘I defend egalitarianism. Feminism advocates supporting women to achieve equality.’
And he added: ‘For me there is no such thing as crime. It is my opinion. I asked her the question (about the kiss) and she said, ‘Okay.’
You can’t question Hermoso. Can. Is it because I’m a man? They want to limit freedom of thought.’
Elsewhere in the interview, which aired Wednesday night, Rubiales said he couldn’t understand why the kissgate scandal would be labeled as sexual assault.
He said: “I can’t understand how anyone would think this was a sexual assault” before rejecting any coercion, saying: “I only spoke for 10 or 15 seconds with Miss Hermoso.”
Rubiales, who traveled to the Dominican Republic earlier this year for work reasons, reacted angrily to interviewer Ana Pastor’s claims that his defense involved attacking the footballer.
Last month, prosecutors involved in the Kissgate case said they were seeking a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Rubiales.
Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent after Spain’s victory over England in the World Cup final back in August
The incident completely overshadowed Spain’s World Cup victory and sparked outrage across the football world, sparking one of the worst crises in the history of sport in Spain.
They said, in an indictment sent to Madrid-based Judge Francisco de Jorge, that they wanted him jailed for a year if convicted at trial of sexual assault and another 18 months for coercion related to his alleged attempts to get the man to speak. soccer player. in defending him after kissing him at the World Cup.
The corruption investigation is linked to alleged financial irregularities during his time as director of the Spanish Football Federation and focuses on business deals believed to include one to host the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Rubiales was arrested by police on Wednesday after being escorted off a flight returning to Madrid from the Caribbean.
The detectives were waiting for him when he got off an Air Europa plane from the Dominican Republic that landed at Madrid’s Barajas airport shortly before 11 a.m. local time.
Police confirmed he had been released shortly after 1.30pm, ahead of a scheduled court summons where he will be questioned by a judge behind closed doors.
His house in the southern Spanish city of Granada was one of several properties registered on March 20, but it was already in the Caribbean.
Rubiales had already said that he would return to Spain and insisted that it would be on April 6, but overnight it was learned that he had changed his travel plans.
He advanced his voluntary return after an operation by the Spanish police in the Dominican Republic on Monday with the help of local agents.
A Spanish court is also investigating Rubiales (left) for the 2019 decision to move the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia
Footage emerged on Wednesday showing the 46-year-old man entering a Civil Guard van shortly after 10.30am local time, after officers had awaited his arrival at Barajas airport in Madrid.
Police raided the apartment of former FA president Rubiales last month.
Officers from the Central Operational Unit of the Civil Guard, a specialized division of the police responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the most serious forms of crime and organized crime, are said to have confiscated his phone and a laptop during a search of the property in which it was located. has been staying on the Caribbean island.
Spanish outlet El Mundo said police investigators have concluded that Rubiales diverted at least £3.24 million (€3.8 million) from the Spanish Football Federation to a construction company that paid him bribes through a company controlled by a close friend.
