Luis Rubiales must face trial over World Cup kiss

An investigative judge in Spain has ruled that former Spanish soccer president Luis Rubiales should face trial for kissing forward Jenni Hermoso without her consent at the Women's World Cup.

State prosecutors have accused Rubiales of sexual assault against Hermoso and for allegedly seeking to coerce her to support him publicly.

What the judge said

In a ruling that follows a preliminary investigation, Judge Francisco de Jorge concluded that the kiss "was not consensual and was a unilateral and unexpected move" by Rubiales.

The judge also said other officials, including the former team coach Jorge Vilda, should face trial for allegedly pressuring Hermoso to defend Rubiales in public — a step she refused to take. Also accused of coercion are men's team director Albert Luque and football federation marketing boss Ruben Rivera.

De Jorge found there may have been a concerted action among the three, agreed with Rubiales, "to break the will" of the soccer player "and get her to agree to record a video in which she said that the kiss had been consensual."

What happened at the time?

The incident on August 20 took place live in front of the cameras after Spain beat England to win the Women's World Cup final in Australia.

Rubiales grabbed Hermoso's head in both hands and forcibly kissed her on the lips.

While he described the kiss as a "consensual peck," Hermoso said it was not and filed a lawsuit against Rubiales in September.

In his preliminary ruling, de Jorge said it appeared that the player had been "bewildered and surprised" by the unexpected kiss and did not have time to react.

Rubiales was forced to resign after he initially tried to stay in office despite a widespread uproar over the kiss.

Earlier this month, the player testified before a judge that she had come under pressure to defend him on the flight back from Australia and on a subsequent team vacation in Ibiza.

rc/wmr (AFP, AP)