I’m Former Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales has insisted that he ‘can’t understand’ why anyone would think’ his kiss on Jenni Hermoso was sexual assault .
On Wednesday morning, Rubiales, 46, was arrested amid an ongoing corruption probe unrelated to the ‘unwanted’ kiss he gave footballer Jenni Hermoso after Spain’s Women’s World Cup women’s final win against England last August.
The arrest is linked to alleged financial irregularities during his time as head of the Spanish FA and focuses on business deals thought to include one to hold the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Rubiales still faces a potential penalty for his actions last August with Spanish prosecutors seeking a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for the former FA chief.
Now, in an interview with Spanish broadcaster La Sexta, Rubiales has spoken out and taken aim at the judge who charged him with coercion and sexual assault over his ‘unwanted’ Hermoso kiss by saying: ‘I think his way of describing my words is manipulative.’
‘I cannot understand that anyone could think this was a sexual assault’ before rejecting any coercion by saying: ‘I only spoke 10 or 15 seconds with Miss Hermoso.’
The full interview is set to air at 9:30pm BST however the outlet have already released an excerpt from the discussion, where Rubiales voiced his opinion.
Last month public prosecutors involved in the ‘Kissgate’ case said they were seeking a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for Rubiales.
They said, in an indictment sent to Madrid-based judge Francisco de Jorge, they wanted him jailed for a year if he was found guilty at trial of sexual assault and another 18 months for coercion linked to his alleged attempts to get the footballer to speak out in his defence following his World Cup kiss.