CNN –
Spanish prosecutors have launched an investigation that could end in sexual aggression charges against Spanish Football Federation boss Luis Rubiales.
The prosecutors’ case revolves around the unwanted kiss Rubiales gave to star player Jenni Hermoso when Spain won the Women’s World Cup on August 20, according to a statement from Spanish prosecutors on Monday.
“We have agreed to contact Jennifer Hermoso to advise her of her rights as a victim of an alleged crime of sexual aggression over the next 15 days,” the statement said.
This comes ahead of an “extraordinary and urgent” meeting called by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for Monday afternoon after Rubiales was provisionally suspended by world football’s governing body FIFA over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Rubiales’ mother locked herself in a church and went on a hunger strike to protest the “inhumane, bloodthirsty hunt” of her 46-year-old son, Spanish media reported.
Ángeles Béjar reportedly said on Monday she would remain in the church in the Spanish town of Motril, near Granada, “indefinitely, day and night” until justice was done for Rubiales.
The football boss and the RFEF have been locked in controversy since he kissed 33-year-old attacker Hermoso on the lips after Spain won their first Women’s World Cup title by beating England.
Rubiales said he made a mistake but called the kiss consensual, while Hermoso said she didn’t give her permission to kiss and felt hurt.
“I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulsive, sexist, inappropriate act without my consent,” she said on social media. “Put simply, I wasn’t respected.”
In a defiant speech on Friday, Rubiales refused to step down and vowed to “fight to the end” – a stance that sparked a wave of fierce criticism from teams, players, politicians and union officials.
In response to Rubiales’ decision to stay, RFEF vice-president Rafael del Amo and 11 members of Spain’s national women’s football program have resigned.
Hermoso and her team-mates in Spain’s World Cup squad said they would not play for the country again until Rubiales was removed from his position.
However, the RFEF stands behind Rubiales, accusing Hermoso of lying about the incident and threatening legal action against her and others.
On Saturday, FIFA announced that it was suspending Rubiales for 90 days from “all football-related activities at national and international level” while the disciplinary proceedings are ongoing.