Videos of Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso sunbathing on a yacht in Ibiza made headlines around the world in the days after last year’s World Cup final.
The Spanish women’s team had just won the sport’s most prestigious competition in Sydney and was on the party island to celebrate.
The forward appeared in a good mood, laughing and practicing wakeboarding in photographs and videos posted on social networks, despite the debate that arose around her after the kiss that the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation gave her moments after the game. (RFEF), Luis Rubiales. .
But behind the scenes, it is alleged that Hermoso, his friends and family were being harassed and intimidated by some of the most powerful men in Spanish football.
Court documents filed by Madrid prosecutors allege that RFEF marketing director Rubén Rivera and women’s sporting director Albert Luque showed up in Ibiza, but not to join the party.
The documents allege that the duo’s mission was to get Hermoso to record a video statement endorsing Rubiales, and that when she refused, things went wrong.
According to the documents, Luque would have sent several WhatsApp messages to Hermoso’s friend expressing his anger and accusing the forward of “being a bad person, wishing her to feel very alone in life and announcing that he would be happy if that happened.”
The allegations contained in the documents set out a chronology of how a saga that began in Sydney exploded in the days that followed, first behind the scenes and then into the global spotlight.
Spain beat England 1-0 in the final at Stadium Australia on August 20, but their victory celebrations took a turn when Rubiales grabbed Hermoso’s head and kissed her on the lips as she received her winner’s medal on stage.
While no one denies that the incident took place (it occurred in front of a packed crowd and a television audience of millions), there was fierce debate over whether the kiss was consensual in the days that followed.
Rubiales was later accused of sexual assault, something he denies. Spanish prosecutors last month asked for a prison sentence if Rubiales was found guilty.
Court documents filed by Spanish prosecutors allege that the kiss was just the beginning of a series of criminal offenses that Rubiales and his executive team subjected Hermoso to in the days following the final.
Prosecutor Marta Durantez Gil also presents charges of coercion against four men within the RFEF: Mr. Rubiales, the then coach of the women’s team Jorge Vilda, Mr. Rivera and Mr. Luque.
All of the men deny the allegations, including that they tried to pressure Hermoso to downplay the kiss and that they harassed the star, her friends and family.
The documents allege that Rubiales exerted “constant and repeated acts of pressure” on Hermoso, with “the objective of justifying and publicly approving the kiss.”
It is alleged that these acts of pressure began immediately after the medal ceremony in Sydney, when Rubiales asked that Hermosa be sent outside the Stadium Australia changing rooms to speak to him.
“In this initial state, Luis Rubiales had already urged the player to make a public statement about her acceptance of the kiss, to which she did not agree,” Durantez Gil said in his written statement, presented to the court.
Ms Hermoso was then allegedly ordered to get off the team bus as she headed to Sydney Airport to sign a press release drafted by the RFEF communications team, which was sent to the media despite that the athlete did not agree with its content.
The statement said: “It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture due to the immense joy of winning a World Cup. The president and I have a great relationship, his behavior towards us has been excellent and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.” .
On the flight from Australia to Spain after the match, Rubiales is accused of repeatedly approaching Hermoso to persuade her to make a joint public statement exonerating him for the kiss.
When she refused, prosecutors allege, Vilda, who was the team’s coach at the time, approached Hermoso’s family, who was on the same flight, and told her brother he would face negative consequences “both personally and in his professional career as a footballer” if he did not record a video statement during his stopover in Doha.
“Jennifer suffered a situation of harassment that prevented her from living her life in peace, tranquility and freedom,” Durantez Gil stated in the documents.
It is alleged that attempts to force Ms Hermoso to make a statement clearing Mr Rubiales continued during the team’s trip to Ibiza, which began two days after the final.
Court documents allege that the defendants’ harassment of Hermoso ended when Rubiales was provisionally suspended by world sports governing body FIFA on August 26.
He formally resigned from his position as president of the RFEF 16 days later.
If convicted, the Spanish prosecutor has recommended prison sentences of 18 months for the four defendants for coercion and an additional year for Rubiales for sexual assault.
The unwanted kiss coincided with a significant change in Spanish laws on sexual assault, which now impose prison sentences of one to four years for anyone who “commits any act against the sexual autonomy of another person without their consent.”
The legal reform was sparked by nationwide protests over a gang rape at a festival in 2016. This case is the most prominent test of the new legislation.
Rubiales has repeatedly denied sexually assaulting the star forward and claims he received permission from Hermoso before kissing her on the lips.
Hermoso denied giving permission and previously said the incident left her feeling “vulnerable and a victim of assault,” in a statement she posted on social media.
In an interview with the Spanish television show La Sexta last week, Rubiales said he was facing trial for the kiss “because I am a man.”
“Whoever sees the images… I can’t understand why anyone would consider it a sexual assault,” Rubiales said.
Faced with accusations of coercion, he said that “he only spoke for 10 or 15 seconds with Miss Hermoso.”
The interview was broadcast a day after Rubiales was arrested as part of a separate investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering in the RFEF during his tenure as president, something he also denies.
While Rubiales and Vilda no longer work for the RFEF, both Luque and Rivera continue to receive salaries despite being suspended from the organization while awaiting trial.
No dates have been set for a possible future trial for the coercion charges the four men face and the alleged sexual assault Rubiales committed.
