The brother of Jenni Hermoso and one of her teammates told a judge Wednesday there were attempts to pressure the player into downplaying the unsolicited kiss by former Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales in the awards presentation ceremony following the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Rafael Hermoso said in court that former women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda asked him to tell Jenni to record a video together with the former president to show she was OK with the kiss.
Former teammate Misa RodrÃguez said Jenni told the other players that she was being coerced and that she was “not well” after what happened.
Rubiales is on trial for sexual assault for kissing Jenni Hermoso after the World Cup won by Spain in Sydney, as well as for coercion for allegedly trying to convince the player to support his version of the kiss.
Vilda and two other former members of the federation are also on trial for coercion. All four deny wrongdoing.
Jenni Hermoso said she did not consent to the kiss while Rubiales says it was consensual. The kiss marred the title celebrations and sparked outrage in Spain about the prevalence of sexism in sports and beyond.
Rafael Hermoso said his sister told him she was pressured several times by members of the Spanish federation.
“She came to us half-crying and told us that they were pressuring her to take a stance downplaying the kiss,” Rafael said.
RodrÃguez said Jenni told them about the kiss and that she did not know how to react to it. She also said that Jenni told them she was being pressured to record a video and downplay the kiss.
“She told us that she didn’t want to do it and we supported her decision,” RodrÃguez said. “We told her that she should not talk to anybody anymore and should try to get some rest, because we noticed that she was not well.”
Rafael Hermoso said Vilda came to him on the plane returning from the final in Australia to ask him to talk to his sister.
“We were talking about soccer and the achievement of the team and suddenly he mentioned the kiss,” Rafael said. “He said that the president wanted me to talk to Jenni to ask her to record the video together downplaying the kiss, because that would be the best thing for everyone.”
Rafael added that Vilda told him that Rubiales’ daughters were crying and that the president was worried about losing his job because of what happened. He said Vilda told him that he had already talked to Jenni and that she had not agreed to do the video.
“I told him that I was not going to try to convince her to do something that I also don’t agree with,” Rafael said.
Rafael said he felt Vilda threatened his sister by hinting that things would not be good for her in the federation if she decided not to help. He also said Vilda implied that Jenni owed that to Rubiales’ daughters and the president himself.
Jenni Hermoso was not called up to the national team immediately after the World Cup, with new coach Montse Tomé saying she wanted to protect the player.
Rubiales has yet to testify and denied the charges. He resigned under pressure three weeks later and was banned by FIFA for three years. He said he was the victim of a “witch hunt” by “false feminists.”
Prosecutors, Hermoso and the Spain players’ association want Rubiales jailed for two and a half years, fined €50,000 ($51,800) for damages, and banned from working as a sports official. They want the other three defendants sentenced to one and a half years in prison.
The trial is expected to last at least 10 days. Rubiales attended the first day on Monday. The coach of the men’s national team, Luis de la Fuentes, testified on Tuesday.
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