His word was expected. Luis Rubiales, the ousted former president of the Spanish football federation, gave an interview to Sexta, which will be broadcast this Wednesday evening on Spanish television. In a first extract broadcast on social networks, he speaks about his kiss on the mouth of Jenni Hermoso after the final of the 2023 Women’s World Cup won by the Iberian selection.
“I think the way she characterized my comments is manipulative,” he declared to the journalist who questioned him. As a reminder, the Fifa appeal committee confirmed at the end of January the sanction at first instance, announced on October 30, 2023, imposing a three-year suspension on Luis Rubiales from all football-related activities.
The prosecution had requested last week a sentence of two and a half years in prison against Rubiales for the crimes of sexual assault and coercion, since he is also accused of having pressured the player to affirm that the kiss was consented to despite the images having gone around the world. The La Roja striker has always said that this kiss was not consented to.
During this interview, Luis Rubiales also denied several rumors about him. “It’s a lie that I own a baseball team to explain that I embezzled money. It is a lie to claim that I own land for hotel construction in Saudi Arabia. The money in my account is the product of my work and my savings. “, he insists. According to the newspaper Marca, the former president of the Spanish federation must go to the police this Wednesday because he is the subject of an arrest warrant.