Rubiales ordered to give testimony in court over investigation into forced kiss

Rubiales has been summoned to appear at 12 noon local time before an examining magistrate ‘to be heard as an accused’ and to respond to accusations of ‘sexual assault’, a Madrid court said in a statement Tuesday.

The 46-year-old kissed Hermoso following Spain’s triumph in Sydney on 20 August, which she says was not consensual, while Rubiales insists it was.

Judge Francisco de Jorge of the National Court admitted a complaint against Rubiales on Monday filed by Spanish prosecutors last week, regarding alleged ‘crimes of sexual assault and coercion’. The judge has now ordered Rubiales to answer his questions in court on Friday. ALSO READ: Jenni Hermoso files criminal complaint against Luis Rubiales for World Cup kiss.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a criminal category that groups together all types of sexual violence.

The penalties for a forced kiss can range from a fine to four years in prison, according to sources from the public prosecutors’ office.

Rubiales stepped down as the Spanish football federation’s president on Sunday but continued to defend himself over the kiss. ALSO READ: Spanish Football Federation confirms resignation of Luis Rubiales.

‘I have faith in the truth and I will do everything in my power so that it prevails,’ Rubiales wrote in an open letter.

Hermoso, 33, who plays for Mexican club Pachuca, has said the unwanted kiss left her feeling ‘vulnerable and like the victim of an assault’, with a statement on social media describing it as ‘an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part’.

She also accused Rubiales of pressuring her to speak out in his defence immediately after the furore over the kiss erupted, which prosecutors said could be considered a crime of coercion.