Jenni Hermoso, the Spanish soccer star kissed by federation president Luis Rubiales after winning the Women’s World Cup, has filed a formal complaint against him, officials said Wednesday.
Hermoso accuses Rubiales of sexual assault in the filing, according to the prosecutor’s office in Madrid.
Rubiales, 46, has contended his kissing Hermoso on the lips during last month’s medal ceremony was consensual, which Hermoso denied.
“I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out of place act without any consent on my part,” Hermoso, 33, said in a previous statement. “Simply put, I was not respected.”
Last week, FIFA suspended Rubiales as president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for 90 days amid an investigation. Rubiales refused to step down despite widespread outrage, downplaying the kiss in an Aug. 26 speech as something “I could give one of my daughters.”
Rubiales could face between a year and four years in prison under a sexual consent law that was passed in 2022 if found guilty.
News of Hermoso’s filing comes a day after the firing of Spanish women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda. Fifteen players complained about the team’s culture under Vilda’s leadership before the 2023 World Cup, many of whom did not compete in the international soccer tournament. Rubiales stood by Vilda through that controversy.
The RFEF also released a statement Tuesday calling Rubiales’ behavior “totally unacceptable.” In addition to the kiss, Rubiales grabbed his crotch in celebration following Spain’s 1-0 win in the title game over England while 16-year-old Princess Infanta Sofía stood nearby.
“The damage caused to Spanish football, to Spanish sport, to Spanish society and to the values of football and sport as a whole has been enormous,” said Pedro Rocha, who is currently serving as RFEF president.
The World Cup championship was the first ever for the Spanish women. Hermoso, the Spanish women’s team’s all-time leading goal scorer, and her 22 teammates vowed not to return to the national club if management remained in place.
With News Wire Services
