The press officer of the women’s football team, Patricia Pérez, explained this Thursday before the National Court that she had received pressure from association officials in connection with the demonstrations by the player Jenni Hermoso after the kiss received by the then president of the Real Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). ), Luis Rubiales, gave him after the World Cup final. According to her statement, she was pressured to provide the version offered by Hermoso. Pérez testified as a witness before Judge Francisco de Jorge, head of the Central Court of Instruction Number 1, who is investigating Rubiales for sexual assault and coercion.
In addition, both Patricia Pérez, nicknamed Poki, and the footballer’s brother, Rafael Hermoso, have provided the judge with the information and data contained in their respective cell phones. The two witnesses left their devices in court so that the judge could confirm their respective statements. Rafael Hermoso testified before the investigating judge on Monday. He then assured that the now former coach Jorge Vilda had put pressure on his sister after Rubiales’ kiss.
The judge also took as a witness this Thursday the former RFEF integrity director Miguel García Caba. Prosecution sources said that the disposal of his phone was not necessary to clarify the matter. García Caba defended his actions in relation to the internal report of the department he headed on the events of the World Cup final, which, according to sources, was closed without any consequences for the former president and without hearing the testimony of Jenni Hermoso Case. On the 22nd, the RFEF, governed by an administrative commission chaired by Pedro Rocha, announced that it was renouncing the services of García Caba, who joined the organization when Luis Rubiales became president in May 2018.
The departures of Caba and Andreu Camps as general secretary the day before came after national players demanded that the RFEF should restructure the general secretariat and the integrity areas, as well as the organizational chart of women’s football, the presidential office and the communications and marketing area.
Putellas, Paredes and Misa explain day 2
The investigating judge will receive statements from national players Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes and Misa Rodríguez as witnesses on October 2nd. In addition, on the 10th, Vilda and the directors of the men’s team, Albert Luque, and RFEF marketing, Rubén Rivera, will be interviewed as investigated.
The deputy prosecutor of the National Court of Justice, Marta Durántez, questioned Rubiales about five people during the interrogation before the judge as part of the case being pursued for alleged coercion and sexual assault. The sources consulted then explained that the ministry tried to find out if these five people, including Vilda and the aforementioned Luque and Rivera, tried to force the player after the forced kiss. After interrogation, at the request of the prosecutor, the instructor agreed that Rubiales was not allowed to communicate with the player during the investigation of the open case and also prohibited him from approaching her within 200 meters.
According to tax sources, Rubiales denied before the judge that there was coercion against the senior player and those around him and that the kiss on the mouth he gave her was due to a lack of consent. The former president of the federal government answered questions from all parties in the almost 45 minutes that his testimony as an investigator lasted.
It was on the 12th when the judge summoned Rubiales. At that time, the judge accepted the criminal offense of sexual assault and coercion filed against him by the public prosecutor for the kiss on the mouth. The judge approved the first steps of this process, including obtaining the video or videos that are in their files that record the moment the defendant kisses the complainant from all angles, as well as the transcripts immediately before and after . to the event related to the celebration of the victory of the women’s football team.
In addition, he requested from EL PAÍS the video of the celebration in the dressing room published on the Internet and from the newspaper information on the moments of the kiss and all others related to the events. For his part, the instructor asked the newspaper La Vanguardia for the video of the celebration on the bus of the Spanish women’s football team.
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