MADRID: Spain men’s coach Luis de la Fuente told a judge in the Luis Rubiales trial on Tuesday that he did not get involved in discussions related to Jenni Hermoso following her World Cup kiss from the former Spanish soccer boss.
Rubiales is accused of sexual assault for kissing Hermoso, the Spain forward, at the 2023 Women’s World Cup final presentation ceremony in Sydney, as well as of coercion for allegedly trying to convince the player to support his version of the kiss. Hermoso says she did not consent to the kiss while Rubiales says it was consensual.
De la Fuente said during his brief appearance in court that he spoke with Hermoso only about two months ago at a gala. He was at the Women’s World Cup final in Australia but said he did not have any discussions with Spanish federation officials about the kiss and alleged attempts to support Rubiales.
The 47-year-old Rubiales and three other former federation officials — former Spain women’s coach Jorge Vilda, former sports director of the Spain men’s team Albert Luque, and former head of marketing Rubén Rivera — are accused of pressuring Hermoso to defend Rubiales publicly in a statement after the incident, which she refused to do.
“Nobody talked to me or asked me about” a possible statement, De la Fuente said.
The coach said that when he visited the federation in the days following the scandal, he only “talked about football” and business related to his position as the men’s national coach.
De La Fuente last week had his contract with the men’s national team extended to 2028.
The judge got angry at one point on Tuesday with the testimony of former federation press chief Pablo García Cuervo, asking him to be more clear with his answers.
Cuervo said he wrote up some of Hermoso’s comments to a local radio station to release them to the media. He said Hermoso asked if they wanted her to do a video with the comments, and he said that it was not necessary.
Hermoso testified on the first day of the trial on Monday and said she “felt disrespected” by Rubiales after winning the Women’s World Cup final and the kiss “stained one of the happiest days of my life.”
The kiss sparked outrage in Spain about the prevalence of sexism in sports and beyond.
Rubiales has yet to testify and denied the charges. He resigned under pressure three weeks later and was banned by FIFA for three years. Rubiales had said he was the victim of a “witch hunt” by “false feminists.”
Prosecutors, Hermoso and the Spain players’ association want Rubiales jailed for two and a half years, fined 50,000 euros ($51,800) for damages, and banned from working as a sports official. They want the other three defendants sentenced to one and a half years in prison.
The trial will continue on Wednesday. It is expected to last at least 10 days. Rubiales attended the first day on Monday.