In a recent interview with Spanish broadcaster La Sexta, Luis Rubiales, the former Spanish FA president, addressed the controversy surrounding his kiss with Jenni Hermoso.
Rubiales maintains that the kiss was harmless and expresses confusion over the public’s reaction to it.
He emphasizes that the ongoing corruption probe, which led to his arrest, is unrelated to his involvement with Hermoso and the Women’s World Cup.
The arrest is instead connected to alleged financial irregularities during his tenure as head of the Spanish FA, particularly regarding business deals, including one related to the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Despite facing legal consequences for these separate matters, Rubiales still potentially faces a penalty for his actions involving Hermoso, as Spanish prosecutors are seeking a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for him. ‘I think his way of describing my words is manipulative.’
The initial snippet of the interview that was unveiled overnight displayed Rubiales, who traveled to the Dominican Republic earlier this year for work purposes, responding furiously to allegations made by interviewer Ana Pastor that his defense has revolved around attacking the football player.
In a subsequent segment, he defended his controversial kiss by stating: ‘I fail to comprehend how anyone could perceive this as a sexual assault’ and refuted any coercion by stating: ‘I only conversed with Miss Hermoso for 10 or 15 seconds.’
The complete interview is scheduled to be broadcast at 9:30pm BST, however, a preview of the conversation has already been released by the outlet, featuring Rubiales expressing his views.
Last month, public prosecutors involved in the ‘Kissgate’ case announced that they were pursuing a two-and-a-half year prison term for Rubiales.
