World Cup kiss trial: Jenni Hermoso’s brother pressured to downplay kiss, court hears

Jenni Hermoso's brother, Rafael Hermoso, arrives to testify as a witness. Photo / Getty Images

Jenni Hermoso’s brother on Wednesday told the forced kiss trial of Spain’s ex-football federation chief Luis Rubiales his sister was threatened with “consequences” if she did not downplay the affair.

Rubiales sparked worldwide outrage for the kiss on Hermoso after she had just helped Spain beat England in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final in Australia.

The scandal forced Rubiales to resign in disgrace that year and has made Hermoso an icon of the fight against macho culture and sexism in sport.

Rafael Hermoso, the striker’s older brother, said former women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda asked him on the flight back to Spain to “convince” his sister to record a video with Rubiales to show she was not bothered by the kiss.

Vilda “told me that my sister was of a certain age, that she already had a career and that if she cooperated, things would go well for her”, he told the National Court just outside Madrid.

“But that if she did not cooperate, there was no way of knowing what would happen,” he continued.

“The last thing Mr Vilda said to me was that we should bear in mind the professional and personal consequences that all this could have for my sister,” he added.

Prosecutors are seeking two and a half years in prison against Rubiales, one year for sexual assault for the forced kiss and 18 months for allegedly coercing Hermoso, 34, to downplay the incident.

Rubiales, 47, has called the kiss an innocuous “peck between friends celebrating” and denied any coercion. He is scheduled to take the stand on February 12.

Vilda and two former federation officials, Ruben Rivera and Albert Luque, are on trial alongside Rubiales.

They also stand accused of trying to coerce Hermoso with prosecutors seeking 18 months’ jail against them.

Jenni’s teammate Misa Rodriguez told the court the striker was “under a lot of pressure” and “started crying” shortly after Rubiales talked to her on the plane.

“At no point did she tell us that the kiss had been consensual,” the goalkeeper added.