Luis Rubiales: Prosecutors open inquiries into whether Spanish FA boss’s World Cup kiss was sexual harassment

Prosecutors have opened inquiries into the kiss by Spanish FA boss Luis Rubiales, whose mother has gone on hunger strike over the treatment of her son.

Spanish prosecutors announced on Monday they believe the facts of the case may constitute an offence of sexual harassment.

There has been widespread criticism of Mr Rubiales, 46, after he kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips following Spain’s Women’s World Cup final win.

The prosecutors said Hermoso now has 15 days to formalise the complaint.

The prosecutor’s office said: “It was agreed to approach Jenni Hermoso so as to inform her of her rights as a possible victim of the offence of sexual harassment… and to offer her the opportunity should she wish within the next 15 days to file a complaint with the Prosecutors Office of the Spanish High Court.”

The prosecutor’s office said it opened pre-trial enquiries because of “public statements made by Jenni Hermoso that the sexual act she experienced and was carried out by Mr Rubiales was non-consensual”.

Hermoso has said that in “no moment” did she consent to the kiss.

FIFA suspended Mr Rubiales on Saturday.

In response, the Spanish football federation boss said he would defend himself after his suspension.

A statement released by the Spanish Football Association said: “Luis Rubiales has stated that he will legally defend himself in the competent bodies, he fully trusts FIFA and reiterates that, in this way, he is given the opportunity to begin his defence so that the truth prevails.”

He has remained defiant in the face of mounting criticism, saying he’s the subject of a “witch hunt” by “false feminists”.

Rubiales’ mother ‘on hunger strike’

Amid the controversy, Mr Rubiales’ mother reportedly locked herself in a church on Monday and is going on a hunger strike over the “inhuman and bloody hunt” against her son.

Angeles Bejar told news outlet EFE she will remain in the Divina Pastora church in the southern Spanish town of Motril “indefinitely, day and night” until the situation is resolved.

She said the “hunt” against her son is “something he does not deserve”.

Mr Rubiales’ mother has requested that Hermoso “tell the truth” and “maintain the version she had at the beginning of the events”.

Ms Bejar also told EFE her son “is incapable of harming anyone” and claimed there was “consent on both sides”.

Victor Francos, of the Spanish Sports Council, said at a news conference on Monday: “That is what a mother does for her son. I don’t think there is any doubt about that.”

He added that he “simply can’t imagine” a mother who “does not defend her son”.

‘Urgent meeting’ called

Following days of criticism and calls for Mr Rubiales to quit following the Women’s World Cup final, the Spanish football federation called an “extraordinary and urgent” meeting into the situation.

Read more:
Who is Luis Rubiales?
Who said what in World Cup kissing row
Spanish FA calls ‘extraordinary’ meeting

Mr Rubiales was widely expected to resign at a meeting on Friday but instead made a defiant speech, claiming he was the victim of a witch-hunt by “false feminists” and insisting the kiss with Hermoso was consensual.

The federation’s interim president Pedro Rocha has called the meeting in Madrid on Monday “to evaluate the situation in which the federation finds itself” and look at “the decisions or actions to be taken,” a spokesman said on Sunday.

An internal investigation is also under way after the federation’s sexual violence protocol was activated.

Maria Dolores Martinez Madrona, the protocol’s protection delegate who is conducting the investigation, said in a statement “we demand the utmost respect for the right to privacy and dignity of every person involved”.