Rubiales trial ready for sentencing: these were the six key moments

BarcelonaThe trial of the former president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales for the kiss he gave to the footballer Jenni Hermoso during the medal ceremony of the 2023 World Cup has been set for sentencing. As expected, two opposing versions of the events have been contrasted, turning Judge Clemente Fernández-Prieto González into a media figure for his way of conducting a process that, at times, has exhausted his patience. "Although it may seem untrue, we are done. Ready for sentencing," said the magistrate to close the last session of the trial. Despite the seriousness of the events being judged, none of those present could help bursting out in laughter.

Beautiful, forceful

The trial It began with Hermoso's witness. The Madrid native, in front of Rubiales himself, said: "He was kissing what was my head at that moment, and I think that is not normal." The forward had to face the questions of Rubiales' defence, who questioned her state of mind after the kiss because she had celebrated the World Cup. "It is not necessary for me to be crying in a room or to throw myself on the floor when the event happened to imply that I did not like it," Hermoso replied to the lawyer of the main accused.

Alexia: "Jenni was very overwhelmed"

On the third day of the trial, Jenni Hermoso's teammates had to testify. The statement of Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes was important, to see if they confirmed the version of events of the Madrid native and because of the weight that both have in women's football. Both did it telematically without traveling to Madrid. Alexia, calm and forceful, ratified Hermoso's version, explaining how "Jenni was very overwhelmed": "When we were on the bus she was like hallucinating, but on the plane she was already angry, because they didn't leave her alone. She started crying from exhaustion afterwards and."

The judge: "They have me exhausted"

The 70-year-old judge Fernández-Prieto González has become the new protagonist of this media case, due to his way of calling the lawyers and witnesses to order. Last Tuesday, for example, he said: "They have exhausted me. I will not find out what is happening. We will call it a day," after the statement by Rubiales himself. In the former communications director of the Spanish Football Federation Pablo García-Cuervo already booed him forcefully: "Excuse me, my patience is reaching its limit, here you come to declare. Enough with these answers! I want to know things clearly, not with arrogance," he snapped.

Rubiales: "I was wrong"

In his statement, The accused argued that he had not committed any crime, although he admitted that it was a mistake to kiss. The Andalusian leader justified the kiss by the euphoria of the moment, and added: "It was a sign of affection to a person who inspired tenderness in me at a time when, within the joy, I was suffering from having missed a penalty" subjects. "I would devour many male footballers with kisses," he said.

A dubious expert in lip reading

Rubiales' defense, to confirm that he would have asked Hermoso's permission before giving him the kiss, He summoned a deaf man to testify and he read the lips of the former president of the RFEF through a video posted on TikTok. David Morillo, who appeared by video conference accompanied by a sign language interpreter, said that from the analysis of the two seconds prior to the kiss he could conclude that she had said: "Can I give you a kiss?"The prosecution raised doubts about the professionalism of the expert, who has no qualifications and had not previously participated in any similar work.

"A moment of uncontrollable euphoria"

The trial ended with the final arguments. Ángel Chavarría, Jenni Hermoso's lawyer, began by saying that the player had "no room for reaction" and described the kiss as "an attack on Mrs. Hermoso's sexual freedom." On the other hand, Olga Tubau, Rubiales' lawyer, questioned whether the kiss on the mouth was a sexual assault: "We are facing a moment of uncontrollable joy". On the last day, the lawyer for the other defendants also intervened. Jorge Vilda's defense denied any coercion and even questioned the testimony of Jenni Hermoso's brother: "I'm not saying he's lying, I'm saying he's exaggerating." Albert Luque's lawyer says that "you can't talk about coercion when someone tries to act as a mediator between two parties"; while Rubén Rivera's lawyer believes that a "macrocause" has been fabricated because "the kiss was insufficient."