Prosecutors open sex abuse probe into Spanish FA chief Luis Rubiales

BREAKING NEWS: Prosecutors open preliminary sex abuse probe into Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales

• Prosecutors have started a preliminary sex abuse investigation into Luis Rubiales
• The Spanish FA president is under pressure to quit after a non-consensual kiss
• Rubiales kissed Spain player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth after the World Cup

Prosecutors have opened a preliminary sex abuse investigation into Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales after he kissed Spain player Jennifer Hermoso on the lips without consent.

Spain’s top criminal court is probing whether Rubiales’ actions during the World Cup ‘kiss-gate’ scandal constitute sexual assault. He also grabbed his crotch in the royal box alongside Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter Infanta Sofia.

After La Roja beat England 1-0 in the Women’s World Cup final on August 20, the 46-year-old grabbed midfielder Hermoso in a tight embrace before kissing her on the mouth in a sudden gesture she said she ‘didn’t like’.

Rubiales, who has claimed she consented to the kiss – which Hermoso, 33, denies – has received widespread condemnation in the aftermath of the incident.

Rubiales was suspended by world football’s governing body FIFA on Saturday, one day after he repeatedly refused to resign and blamed ‘false feminists’ for the saga in a bizarre speech at an emergency meeting of the Spanish FA (RFEF) on Friday.

Prosecutors have launched a preliminary sex abuse investigation into Luis Rubiales (pictured)

Rubiales is under huge pressure to quit after kissing Spanish player Jennifer Hermoso on the lips without consent after Spain’s 1-0 win against England in the World Cup final on August 20

Spanish FA will hold an emergency meeting on Monday over their president Rubiales’ future

The Prosecutors’ Office said it has started the investigation because ‘the sexual act was not consented’. 

AFP quoted the Spanish national court as saying: ‘Prosecutors from the national court have opened a preliminary investigation to look into the facts, which could constitute an offence of sexual assault’, the statement adding that Hermoso will have the opportunity to submit a lawsuit herself.

The country’s government has urged the Spanish Sports Tribunal (TAD) to suspend Rubiales and there are widespread demands he is sacked, with the entire Spain coaching staff resigning over the issue. The Spanish government also wants him out.

The RFEF’s interim president Pedro Rocha has called an ‘extraordinary and urgent’ meeting on Monday ‘to evaluate the situation in which the federation finds itself’ after Rubiales’ suspension, an RFEF spokesperson said on Sunday.

FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales on Thursday and announced on Saturday he had been suspended for three months from national and international football activities pending an internal investigation after its sexual violence protocol was triggered.

Rubiales’ mother has locked herself inside a church and gone on hunger strike to stop what she calls the ‘inhumane’ treatment of her son. 

The uproar has come in a country where gender issues have become a prominent topic. Tens of thousands of women have taken part in street marches in recent years protesting against sexual abuse and violence.  

Hermoso, who has said she did not consent to the kiss and felt ‘vulnerable and the victim of an aggression’, has been warmly supported by fellow players and many in wider society.

She was applauded by the crowd when she was spotted on a balcony with dignitaries at the Women’s Cup final between Atletico Madrid and Milan on Saturday evening. Players at the match held a banner reading: ‘With you Jennifer Hermoso’.

All 23 of Spain’s cup-winning squad including Hermoso, as well as dozens of other squad members, said on Friday they would not play internationals while Rubiales remained in his post. 

Their next match is away against Sweden in the Nations League on September 22.

On Saturday, 11 members of the women’s team’s coaching staff resigned in a statement supporting Hermoso and condemning Rubiales. Manager Jorge Vilda blasted the ‘inappropriate and unacceptable’ behaviour of Rubiales on Saturday.

Feminist groups have called a demonstration on Monday in Madrid entitled ‘With You Jenni’. Hundreds of people staged a demonstration on Sunday in Salamanca against Rubiales.

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