Spanish FA To Take Legal Actions Against Jennifer Hermoso Following Her Rejection of Luis Rubiales Consent Claims
Following her comments criticising Spanish football federation head Luis Rubiales and his claims of a consented kiss after the World Cup final, the federation plans to pursue legal action against Jenni Hermoso.
Despite the tsunami of condemnation that Rubiales has encountered since he grabbed star player Hermoso by the head and kissed her on the lips, he refused to retire on Friday and instead attempted to explain his actions by labeling the kiss "spontaneous, mutual, euphoric, and consensual."
The federation stated in a statement released early Saturday morning that it would seek legal recourse to defend Rubiales and that it would demonstrate that Hermoso or persons speaking for her have lied about what transpired. The statement on the website of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) did not specify the nature of the pending legal action.
After the kiss, Hermoso claimed she felt "vulnerable and the victim of an aggression" and that she had not given her consent.
The Spanish government, which cannot fire Rubiales due to his contract, has publicly condemned his behavior and is now taking legal measures to have him suspended by a sports tribunal.
The women's squad from Spain has also rebelled. On Friday night, all 32 players of the national team, including Hermoso and the other 23 members of the cup-winning side, issued a statement through their FUTPRO union saying that they would not participate in internationals as long as Rubiales was in charge of the federation.
Hermoso wrote in the same statement that she wanted to "clarify that, as was seen in the images, at no time did I consent to the kiss he gave me and, of course, in no case did I seek to lift the president," rebutting Rubiales' claim that the kiss he gave her was consensual.
This past Saturday morning, the federation issued a statement reading in part, "The RFEF and the President, given the seriousness of the content of the press release from the Futpro Union, will initiate the corresponding legal actions."
“Where there is rule of law ... opinions are counteracted with facts and evidence, and lies are rebutted in court.”
"The RFEF and the President will show each of the lies that are spread either someone on behalf of the player or, if applicable, by the player herself," it stated.
Four images from last Sunday's event were included with the statement to "illustrate" Rubiales' claim that Hermoso had lifted him by the hips.
