Quotes from Martín Gaite and a "well, okay" to dismantle Hermoso: the final arguments of the Rubiales trial

BarcelonaHe Trial of Luis Rubiales and three other former officials of the Spanish Football Federation –Jorge Vilda, Rubén Rivera and Albert Luque– for the non-consensual kiss on Jenni Hermoso has reached the eighth day of oral proceedings. After the statements of the accused and witnesses proposed by all parties, the lawyers representing those involved in the case have presented their final arguments to Judge Fernández-Prieto.

The first to participate in this procedure has been Ángel Chavarría, Hermoso's lawyer. The lawyer confirmed that his client suffered "a sexual assault" and that she had "no room for reaction" at the time she received Rubiales' kiss at the 2023 World Cup celebrations. "She grabbed Hermoso by the head, covering his ears. It was an instantaneous act, an act.

Regarding consent, which is one of the defense's arguments, the soccer player's lawyer has stated that "it did not exist." And he adds: "Mrs. Hermoso could not avoid the kiss. His head was held, he had no chance of escaping. Six seconds changed his life. There is no evidence to prove Hermoso's consent." Chavarría also questioned the expert evidence provided by the defense to justify consent: "The expert is not truthful when he says that Rubiales said "Can I give you a kiss?", when he always referred to "little beak"We are facing submission, not consent," he concluded.

Carmen Martín Gaite quoted by the popular accusation

The lawyer for the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), María José López, who is acting as a private prosecutor, expressed the same opinion. In relation to the coercion, she stressed that the RFEF did "nothing" to protect the alleged victim, who at first expressed "disgust" at what Rubiales did to her and reiterated the lack of consent in the kiss on the mouth. "We are facing a violation of sexual freedom and bodily autonomy that we could define as a crime against sexual freedom due to the lack of consent," concluded López. Quoting Carmen Martín Gaite, who wrote "I am what I dreamed of," the AFE lawyer ended her intervention by saying that this is precisely what Jenni Hermoso was unable to experience after winning a World Cup at 33 years of age.

Olga Tubau does not see sexual assault, but rather a "moment of uncontrollable joy"

After these two interventions, it was the turn of Rubiales' defense. Olga Tubau, the lawyer of the former president of the RFEF, argued that the kiss was consensual because in the video of the celebration on the bus, still in Australian lands, Hermoso said "Well okay"When Laia Codina asked the Madrid native what she had said to Rubiales, Tubau concluded that this response could only fit with a question from the former federation leader about whether he could kiss her or not. The lawyer also questioned whether the kiss on the mouth was an assault on the player: "Do they give you a kiss that you don't want, that disgusts you at the time, and you say goodbye by patting each other twice and smiling?" Rubiales. The session ended with the participation of the Catalan lawyer, Vilda, Luque and Rivera. Afterwards, Judge Fernández-Prieto will announce that the case is ready for sentencing.