Ex-Spain football boss in court over World Cup kiss scandal

MADRID: Five days after resigning as Spain's football chief, Luis Rubiales is due in court on Friday (Sep 15) on sexual assault charges over forcibly kissing women's World Cup player Jenni Hermoso.

The 46-year-old has been summoned to Madrid's Audiencia Nacional court at midday where he will appear before Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation.

At the hearing, which will be closed to the public, Rubiales will be questioned as a defendant in regards to allegations of "sexual assault", a court statement said earlier this week.

Hermoso will also be called to testify at a later date.

The case comes barely four weeks after Rubiales sparked outrage when he forcibly kissed the midfielder in front of the world's media after Spain defeated England in the final on Aug 20.

Rubiales, who was head of Spain's RFEF football federation at the time, has repeatedly insisted the kiss was consensual.

Hermoso has said it was not and that it left her feeling like the "victim of an assault".

De Jorge on Monday admitted a complaint against Rubiales filed the previous week by the public prosecutors' office, citing alleged "offences of sexual assault" and "coercion".

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors' office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors said they had included the offence of coercion because of Hermoso's statement in which she said "she and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone" his actions.

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