Luis Rubiales banned from going within 200m of Jenni Hermoso, as judge hands him restraining order
ITV News' Rebecca Barry has this report as the former Spanish FA president faces possible jail time
Former Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales has been given a restraining order to prevent him from approaching Jenni Hermoso after he kissed her on the lips last month at the Women’s World Cup.
Prosecutors had asked Judge Francisco de Jorge to prohibit Rubiales from going within 500 metres of the player or from communicating with her. The judge later agreed to the order but restricted it to 200 metres.
Rubiales appeared in front of Judge Francisco de Jorge in an hour-long hearing that was closed to the public and denied any wrongdoing when questioned about kissing Spain player Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony.
The judge rejected the prosecutors’ request to also oblige Rubiales to check in with a court every 15 days as well as the request by Hermoso’s lawyer to freeze assets belonging to Rubiales.
He said she had consented to the kiss, but Hermoso has denied that repeatedly.
Last week, Spanish state prosecutors formally accused Rubiales last week of sexual assault and an act of coercion.
According to Hermoso, Rubiales pressured her to speak out in his defence immediately after the scandal erupted.
Hermoso’s lawyer, Carla Vall i Duran, said: “Thanks to the (images of the kiss), the entire world, the entire country, has been able to observe there was no type of consent. And we are going to prove that in the courtroom.”
After refusing to stand down despite widespread protests, Rubiales finally resigned on Sunday as president of the football federation.
Following the ruling, 21 of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad issued a statement saying the resignation of Rubiales was “not enough” to trigger their return to national team duty.
A group of 81 players, including all 23 members of the World Cup squad, released a statement last month indicating they would not play for Spain again while Rubiales remained in post.
Despite his resignation, the large majority of the victorious squad remain unavailable for this month’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, saying they are not yet “in a safe place” to return and that the problems at the RFEF run far deeper than Rubiales.
De Jorge is carrying out the preliminary investigation into the accusations against Rubiales, and will then decide whether the case should go to trial.
According to a sexual consent law passed in Spain last year, Rubiales could face a fine or a prison sentence of one to four years if found guilty of sexual assault.
The new law eliminated the difference between “sexual harassment” and “sexual assault,” sanctioning any non-consensual sexual act.
Hermoso had already given testimony to state prosecutors when she accused Rubiales of sexual assault last week, before she left Spain to join her Mexican club, Pachuca.
In the days following the World Cup final, Rubiales said that the kiss was “mutual” and like one “I could give one of my daughters.”
Hermoso responded by saying that was a lie.
“I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out-of-place act without any consent on my part,” Hermoso said in a statement posted on social media.
“Simply put, I was not respected.”
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