Former Spanish Football Federation President, Luis Rubiales has claimed his daughters heard Jenni Hermoso saying it was a kiss between friends’ after he was handed a 3-year ban for the ‘Kiss-gate’ scandal.
Rubiales was given a three-year ban from football in October after kissing Spanish striker Hermoso on the lips without her consent following their victory over England in the World Cup.
The incident overshadowed Spain’s World Cup win and sparked outrage across the football world.
During an interview with El Espanol, Rubiales stuck to his story that she said ‘OK’ to him kissing her on the podium. Rubiales could face in excess of six years in prison if he is found guilty of sexual assault and coercion, which he is currently on trial for.
“On the street, everyone is with me, especially the women,” he claimed, amongst many eyebrow-raising statements.
Rubiales said that FIFA’s three-year ban imposed upon him was down to a trio of people within the organisation that did not like him. Equally, he felt the Government changed their story due to the media reaction.
Rubiales told El Espanol that he was giving the interview to them because they were not funded by La Liga or ‘certain institutions’ that wished him ill, before declaring he no longer had any faith in the media at all.
“I believe that there is no-one who believes that what happened was a sexual assault and there is no one, really, who believes Jenni Hermoso because she said what she said and then changed her mind,” Rubiales said, despite over 70 Spanish players signing a statement claiming the opposite.
In his mind, Hermoso was damaging feminism by starting a witchhunt.
“I just asked her and she said yes. She told me okay. Jenni Hermoso was my friend. The thing is that Jenni Hermoso, in previous years, asked me for things [about the National Team: pitches, concentrations, etc.]. With language like: “F***, Rubiales…”. That’s how she spoke to me. And she, as soon as she finished and spontaneously, spoke to the media and told the truth at that moment. So what is feminism or what is equality for Jenni Hermoso and for some people? Changing your mind? Lying? Because that’s what has happened.”
He also says his daughters heard Hermoso say that it was not a big deal after the event, although they were not called to the witness stand during the trial.
“She knows she’s lying, I know it and my daughters who accompanied me know it and who heard Jenni say: “Leave me be, he’s a friend, it was a peck between two friends.” That’s what my daughters heard.”
