Photos and videos of that scene went around the entire football planet. When the Spanish women won the World Cup for the first time in history, the head of the union at the time, Rubiales, kissed Hermosa during the medal ceremony. It wasn’t a quick kiss, he held her head with his hands.
What preceded it? In her statement to the public prosecutor, Hermosová described their dialogue.
“We did it,” she breathed in euphoria as they embraced.
“Thanks to you,” Rubiales told her. And you know the rest.
“I didn’t do anything to put myself in this situation. How could I have expected that something like this would happen during the medal presentation?” testified Hermosová.
Rubiales argued that the kiss was arranged, but soon it was not only the football movement that opposed him. He resisted resignation for a long time, stepping down only after overwhelming pressure from influential politicians, regional unions or the men’s national team. He faces charges of sexual assault and coercion, with a wide range of possible penalties ranging from a fine to one to four years in prison. In addition, the court ordered that he must not come within 200 meters of Hermosová.
The preliminary investigation process is currently underway, for example the role of the former coach of the women’s national team, Jorge Vilda, and the Spanish association. According to Hermosová, his representatives wanted her to sign a statement for the media the evening after the finale, stating that the kiss was mutual. “I didn’t say a word from that text, I felt forced again,” remarked Hermosová.
The pressure was to continue even after returning to Spain. Hermos testified that people from the union tried to convince her loved ones to talk to her in order to quickly sweep the case under the carpet.
And when asked why she laughed at the kiss photo on the bus with her teammates after the final, she replied: “I couldn’t start crying in the corner during the celebrations.”
After the affair, the Spanish women refused to represent for three weeks, and the boycott ended only after the promise of reforms in the functioning of the union just before the start of the League of Nations in September. They started it with two wins in two matches, Hermosová was absent from the nomination. “We are all behind Jenni and I believe this is the best way to protect her,” explained the new coach of the national team, Montse Tomé.
2023-10-12 02:39:20
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