Videos of Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso sunbathing on a yacht in Ibiza hit headlines around the world days after last year’s World Cup final.
The Spanish women’s team had just won the sport’s most prestigious competition in Sydney and were on the party island to celebrate.
The star striker appeared in good spirits, laughing and wakeboarding in photos and videos posted on social media, despite a debate raging around her, sparked by a kiss planted on her moments after the match by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales.
But behind the scenes, it appears that Ms Hermoso, her friends and family were harassed and intimidated by some of the most powerful men in Spanish football.
Court documents filed by Madrid prosecutors allege that RFEF marketing director Rubén Rivera and women’s sports director Albert Luque showed up in Ibiza, but not to join the party.
The documents allege that the duo’s mission was to get Ms. Hermoso to record a video statement supporting Mr. Rubiales, and that when she refused, things went south.
According to the documents, Mr Luque allegedly sent several WhatsApp messages to Ms Hermoso’s friend, expressing his anger and accusing the attacker of being “a bad person, wishing she would be very lonely in life and announcing that he would be happy if that happened”.
The allegations in the documents set out a timeline of how a saga that began in Sydney exploded over the next few days, first behind the scenes and then in the global spotlight.
Several members of the Spanish football team travelled to Ibiza after their victory to celebrate. (Europa Press via Getty Image: Francisco Guerra)
Spain beat England 1-0 in the final at Stadium Australia on August 20, but their victory celebrations took a different turn when Rubiales grabbed Hermoso’s head and kissed her on the lips as she received her winner’s medal on stage.
While no one denies that the incident took place – it happened in front of a large crowd and millions of viewers – there was fierce debate in the days that followed about whether the kiss was consensual.
Mr Rubiales was later charged with sexual assault, which he denies. Last month, Spanish prosecutors called for a prison sentence if Mr Rubiales is convicted.
Court documents submitted by Spanish prosecutors allege that the kiss was just the beginning of a series of criminal offences to which Mr Rubiales and his management team subjected Ms Hermoso in the days following the final.
Prosecutor Marta Durantez Gil is also prosecuting four RFEF men for coercion: Mr. Rubiales, the women’s team coach at the time, Jorge Vilda, Mr. Rivera and Mr. Luque.
All of the men deny the allegations, including that they tried to pressure Ms. Hermoso to downplay the kiss and that they harassed the star, her friends and family.
The incident between Jenni Hermoso and Luis Rubiales was televised by millions of viewers around the world. (Reuters: Hannah McKay)
The documents allege that Mr. Rubiales exerted “constant and repeated acts of pressure” on Ms. Hermoso, “with the aim of justifying and publicly approving the kiss.”
The pressure is said to have started immediately after the medal ceremony in Sydney, with Mr Rubiales demanding that Ms Hermoso be removed from the changing rooms at Stadium Australia to speak to him.
“At this early stage, Luis Rubiales had already urged the player to make a public statement about her acceptance of the kiss, with which she did not agree,” Durantez Gil said in her written statement, filed in court.
It is alleged that Ms Hermoso was then ordered off the team bus on her way to Sydney airport to sign a press release drafted by the RFEF’s communications team, which was sent to the media despite the athlete disagreeing with its content.
“It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture due to the immense joy of winning a World Cup. The president and I have an excellent relationship, his behaviour towards us was excellent and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude,” the statement said.
Spain’s Jenni Hermoso is one of the national team’s biggest stars. (AP: John Cowpland)
On the flight from Australia to Spain after the match, Mr Rubiales is accused of repeatedly approaching Ms Hermoso to persuade her to make a joint public statement exonerating him of the kiss.
When she refused, the prosecution alleges, Mr Vilda – who was the team’s coach at the time – approached Ms Hermoso’s family, who were on the same flight, and told her brother she would face negative consequences “both personally and in her professional football career” if she did not record a video statement during their stopover in Doha.
“Jennifer suffered a situation of harassment that prevented her from living her life in peace, tranquility and freedom,” Durantez Gil said in the documents.
Attempts to force Ms Hermoso to make a statement exonerating Mr Rubiales reportedly continued during the team’s trip to Ibiza, which began two days after the final.
Court documents allege that the defendants’ harassment of Ms. Hermoso ended when Mr. Rubiales was provisionally suspended by the sport’s world governing body, FIFA, on Aug. 26.
He officially resigned as RFEF president 16 days later.
If convicted, Spanish prosecutors have recommended prison sentences of 18 months for all four defendants on the coercion charge and an additional year for Mr Rubiales on the sexual assault charge.
The unwanted kiss coincided with a major change in Spain’s sexual assault laws, which now carry prison sentences of one to four years for anyone “who commits an act against the sexual autonomy of another person without their consent.”
The legal reform was triggered by nationwide protests against Gang rape at festival in 2016The case is the most high-profile test of the new legislation.
Mr Rubiales has repeatedly denied sexually assaulting the star striker and says he received permission from Ms Hermoso before kissing her on the lips.
Ms Hermoso denied giving permission and previously said the incident left her feeling “vulnerable and assaulted”, in a statement she posted on social media.
In an interview last week with the Spanish television show La Sexta, Mr Rubiales said he risked being tried for the kiss “because I am a man”.
“Anyone who sees these images… I can’t understand how anyone would consider this to be sexual assault,” Rubiales said.
In response to the allegations of coercion, he said he had “only spoken to Ms. Hermoso for 10 or 15 seconds.”
The interview aired a day after Mr Rubiales was arrested as part of a separate investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering at the RFEF during his time as president – something he also denies.
Although Messrs. Rubiales and Vilda no longer work for the RFEF, Messrs. Luque and Rivera have been suspended from the organization pending trial.
No date has been set for a possible future trial on the coercion charges the four men face and the sexual assault Rubiales allegedly committed.
