Jenni Hermoso testifies on day one among Rubiales trial – Nationwide Courtroom, Madrid, Spain, February 3, 2025. — Reuters
MADRID: Jenni Hermoso was “overwhelmed” by former Spanish soccer boss Luis Rubiales’ pressured kiss and was unable to take pleasure in profitable the Girls’s World Cup, her teammates instructed a courtroom on Thursday.
Rubiales sparked worldwide outrage for the kiss on Hermoso after she had simply helped Spain beat England within the 2023 Girls’s World Cup ultimate in Australia.
The 47-year-old, who was pressured to resign that 12 months, has been on trial since Monday, accused of sexual assault for the kiss after which trying to coerce Hermoso, 34, to downplay the incident with the assistance of different federation officers.
Hermoso “was not well” after the kiss, Barcelona midfielder Alexia Putellas instructed the Nationwide Courtroom simply exterior Madrid by video.
She added her teammate “was really overwhelmed and she told us they would not leave her alone, that they wouldn’t stop”.
Arsenal centre-back Laia Codina instructed the trial that in a crew celebration journey to the Spanish island of Ibiza, Hermoso “was sad, she was not enjoying herself, far from it” despite the fact that it “should have been the best moment in your life”.
Ana Belen Ecube, Hermoso’s good friend who accompanied her to Ibiza, stated the participant “tried to enjoy the trip, being with her teammates, the surroundings, but was then conscious of what had happened and was sad, down, wasn’t herself”.
Prosecutors are looking for two and a half years in jail towards Rubiales.
Among the many accused alongside him are ex-women’s nationwide crew coach Jorge Vilda and two former federation officers, Ruben Rivera and Albert Luque.
In addition they stand accused of making an attempt to coerce Hermoso with prosecutors looking for 18 months’ jail towards them.
The participant’s older brother, Rafael Hermoso, instructed the trial on Wednesday that Vilda requested him on the flight again to Spain after the World Cup to “convince” his sister to document a video with Rubiales to indicate she was not bothered by the kiss.
Vilda warned his sister she confronted “professional and personal consequences” if she didn’t cooperate, he added.
Hermoso, the all-time high scorer for the nationwide ladies’s crew, was not known as up instantly after the World Cup, with new coach Montse Tome saying she needed to guard the participant. She now performs in Mexico.
“To deprive her of doing her job was a bit unfair, to say the least,” Putellas instructed the courtroom.
