Spain‘s Jenni Hermoso has accused Luis Rubiales of sexual assault for kissing her on the lips without her consent after the Women’s World Cup final, the country’s prosecutors’ office said on Wednesday.
Sources close to the Spain forward, who plays her club football for Mexican side Pachuca, confirmed to ESPN that she has pressed charges.
Rubiales, the now-suspended president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF), kissed Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title Aug. 20 in Sydney.
In addition to facing criminal charges, Rubiales remains the subject of ongoing probes by Spain’s top sport court (TAD) and by world governing body FIFA.
On Aug. 28, Spanish prosecutors announced they had begun a preliminary investigation into Rubiales’ conduct and offered Hermoso the opportunity to file a complaint against him.
Hermoso, 33, had 15 days to formalise the complaint and did so in person this week, sources confirmed to ESPN.
In a statement released in August, Hermoso said that the “kiss was not consensual” and that she “felt vulnerable and the victim of aggression, an impulsive, sexist act.”
Rubiales had previously claimed the kiss — which he referred to as a “little peck” — was with consent.
“The behaviour of Rubiales could be deemed as sexual harassment on the basis of current Spanish legislation,” attorney Ignacio Alvarez Serrano, an associate at Gomez-Acebo & Pombo, told ESPN last week.
