Rubiales arrives at court to testify for his non-consensual kiss on Hermoso

The now resigned president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, arrived at the Spain's National Court after 11am this Friday morning, where judge Francisco de Jorge will question him as a defendant for alleged sexual assault and coercion in relation to the kiss on the mouth he gave to national team player Jenni Hermoso on 20 August, at the World Cup trophy ceremony in Sydney.

Rubiales, assisted by lawyer Olga Tobau -. who has already defended public figures such as former Mossos d'Escuadra Major Josep Lluís Trapero, under investigation for the 1-O police operation -- did not make any statement on his arrival at the court, where he had been summoned at 12 noon, limiting himself to greeting the official at the entrance.

The court appearance has created great media expectation, which is why dozens of journalists crowded around the entry from early in the morning.

The key to the criminal proceedings against Rubiales will be to analyse whether there was consent and whether there was any sexual intent on the part of the ex-president when it came to planting a kiss in front of television cameras around the world on the world champion.

Rubiales' summons came after the head of the Central Court of Instruction number 1 admitted the complaint filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office on Monday.

De Jorge will take Rubiales' statement after having access to the results of the first proceedings in the case, including the submission by RTVE, El País, La Vanguardia and the newspaper AS of different videos that show the moment of the kiss to the player "from all angles", as well as the subsequent celebrations. The interrogation will focus on the content of these images, as well as on what Hermoso said to the Public Prosecutor's Office in his statement last week.

Pressing Jenni

In his decision, the judge focused on what the public prosecutor's office had pointed out in its written statement about the crime of coercion. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, during her statement, Hermoso said that she and her family and those closest to her suffered constant and repeated pressure from Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and approve the kiss, which the Public Prosecutor's Office considers to be considered harassment punishable by up to three years in prison.

The complaint added that this pressure was "against the development of the player's life in peace, tranquillity and freedom".

Thus, the specific facts for which Rubiales will be questioned are the kiss he gave Hermoso "while grabbing her head with both hands (...) without her consent," according to the prosecution's complaint, as well as the "constant and repeated pressure" that both the player and her immediate environment - family and friends - suffered from the president of the Federation "with the aim of publicly justifying and approving the act committed against her will."

For the moment, both before the Assembly held at the Federation's headquarters on 25 August and in subsequent public interventions, Rubiales has insisted that his action was carried out with the player's consent.

On the other hand, in the legal grounds of his decision, the magistrate already pointed out that the complaint filed by the lieutenant prosecutor, Marta Durántez, relates actions that could constitute a crime and noted that the matter is within the jurisdiction of the National Court since they are events that took place outside the national territory and involve Spaniards.