Forced kiss case: He kissed Jenni Hermoso without her consent, which Luis Rubiales risks in court this Monday

The trial of former Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales, on trial for the kiss forced on international Jenni Hermoso in front of the whole world in 2023 and the pressure put on her to cover up the scandal, opens this Monday, February 3, 2025 morning near Madrid.

Jenni Hermoso, who is expected to be the first to testify on Monday, February 3, 2025, has become a symbol of the fight against sexism in sport following this affair, which broke out in the wake of the Spanish women's footballers' victory at the World Cup in Australia.

Luis Rubiales, 47, who was then president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), is on trial for sexual assault and coercion. The trial begins at 10 a.m. at the National Court of Justice in San Fernando de Henares, near Madrid.

The prosecution, which in Spain is presenting its conclusions before the trial, is seeking a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for her. The indictment states that the kiss on the mouth was carried out “by surprise and without the player's consent or acceptance”.

“Constant pressure”

From that moment on, “constant and repeated pressure had been exerted directly on the player Jennifer Hermoso Fuentes and through her family and friends with the aim (of getting her to) publicly justify and approve the kiss that Luis Rubiales had given her against her will”, the prosecution further claims. Many of Jenni Hermoso's teammates, including double Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas, RFEF executives, as well as the coaches of the Spanish women's and men's teams, will be called to the stand to testify at the trial, scheduled to last until February 19.

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The former Spanish football boss, who has long presented this kiss as a consensual gesture and has denied any coercion, will be heard from February 12.

“It's over!”

Alongside Luis Rubiales will be the former coach of the women's “Roja”, Jorge Vilda, and two former RFEF officials, Rubén Rivera and Albert Luque, against whom the prosecution requested a year and a half in prison for having put pressure on the player in order to cover up the case.

The scandal broke out on August 20, 2023 in Sydney, during the medal ceremony for the “Roja” players who had just won the World Cup final against England. In front of the cameras of the whole world, Luis Rubiales had grabbed Jennifer Hermoso's head with both hands and kissed her abruptly on the lips, before letting her go after giving her two pats on the back.

Very quickly, this gesture had triggered outraged reactions, the boss of Spanish football defending himself by referring to “a celebratory kiss between two friends” and assuring that the player had consented.

She admits to having cried after this kiss

In a Netflix documentary, the top scorer in the history of the “Roja” would later admit to having cried after this kiss. The case immediately became a symbol of the fight against sexism in sport and the hashtag #SeAcabó (“It's over!”), launched by the players of the “Roja”, went viral around the world.

After initially clinging to his position despite being suspended by FIFA for this gesture and having castigated a demonstration of “false feminism” against him, Luis Rubiales finally gave in to the pressure and resigned on September 10, 2023. He is also implicated in another case, a corruption investigation into a case of irregular contracts when he was head of the RFEF between 2018 and 2023.