Madrid, Sep 8 (EFE).- The Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a complaint on Friday at the National Court against Luis Rubiales, the suspended president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
The development comes after striker Jennifer Hermoso filed a complaint against Rubiales with the prosecutor’s office on Tuesday.
Rubiales has been heavily criticized for kissing the player on the lips during celebrations following Spain’s victory over England in the Fifa Women’s World Cup final last month.
He has ignored widespread calls to step down as RFEF president, insisting that the kiss was consensual, despite Hermoso releasing a statement in which she said she had felt “vulnerable and the victim of an aggression,” describing the incident as “an impulsive, sexist, out-of-place act without any kind of consent on my part.”
The Public Prosecutor’s Office agrees with Hermoso and could therefore constitute a crime of sexual assault.
Prosecutors also believe he could be guilty of the crime “coercion”, relating to the pressure Hermoso was allegedly put under by Rubiales and the RFEF to downplay the incident in its immediate aftermath.
The national court will now review the case and decide whether to open criminal proceedings against Rubiales. EFE
mms/ks/ch
