Spain men’s coach Luis de la Fuente gave testimony on day two of Luis Rubiales’ trial for the alleged sexual assault and coercion of Jenni Hermoso.
Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), kissed Spain player Hermoso as the women’s team were being handed their winners’ medals after the 2023 Women’s World Cup final against England.
On Monday, Hermoso testified she had not consented to the kiss and that Rubiales and other RFEF staff tried to pressure her to publicly state she had no problem with it to protect the then-president’s reputation. Rubiales denies all charges.
Much of Tuesday’s testimony at the Audiencia Nacional court in Madrid centred on the charges of coercion.
The prosecution alleges that Rubiales, 47, and three other RFEF employees — then-women’s coach Jorge Vilda, the former Newcastle United forward and ex-Spain sporting director Albert Luque, and former marketing director Ruben Rivera — coerced Hermoso into publicly supporting Rubiales’ version of events. Rubiales, Luque, Rivera and Vilda deny any wrongdoing.
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On day one of the trial, the women’s press officer, Patricia Perez, said De la Fuente was present at a meeting in Rubiales’ office on August 22 — two days after the World Cup final — at which she said she felt “trapped” as her then-boss suggested to her the evidence she should provide to an internal federation enquiry into events in Sydney.
On Tuesday, De la Fuente was asked by prosecution counsel Marta Durantez if he had attended that meeting, at which Perez also said in court that Rubiales’ father and the RFEF’s then-communications director Pablo Garcia Cuervo were among the eight men present.
“I had a meeting scheduled for that day to talk about our football issues with Mr Rubiales and it was the only meeting I took part in,” De la Fuente replied. “I was in a smaller office alongside, to speak with him when he had time about other issues. When he had time, he came to me and talked about our things — to give out a squad, talk about travel arrangements.”
De la Fuente said in evidence that he entered Rubiales’ main office when sandwiches were brought in, but that he had otherwise been in an adjacent office working on his laptop and mobile phone.
Rubiales and De la Fuente at the latter’s unveiling as Spain boss in December 2022 (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)
Asked by Durantez if he was in the office at the same time as Perez, De la Fuente replied, “I didn’t speak with Patricia Perez and she said I did not take part.”
Judge Jose Manuel Clemente Fernandez-Prieto then intervened to tell De la Fuente he should stick to answering the questions and not give his views on what other witnesses had said.
Durantez then said other witnesses had said De la Fuente was present as Rubiales read aloud the responses Perez should give to the internal federation enquiry.
“I was in the other office,” De la Fuente said. “The only meeting I took part in was to discuss football issues with Mr Rubiales.”
When the counsel then asked De la Fuente about the RFEF’s extraordinary assembly the following Friday — when Rubiales shouted “I will not resign” five times in a speech applauded by De la Fuente among others — the 63-year-old coach replied: “I’ve not come here to speak about that.” De la Fuente previously apologised for that applause and said he had been unable to control his emotions.
“You are here to talk about whatever is asked of you,” intervened the clearly exasperated Judge Fernandez-Prieto. “And you have an obligation to tell the truth.”
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The other witnesses to give testimony on Tuesday were the federation’s former integrity director Manuel Garcia Cabo, ex-communications director Garcia Cuervo, current communications officer Enrique Yunta, and men’s team psychologist Javier Lopez Vallejo, who was working with the women’s side at the time.
Garcia Cuervo said during questioning by Durantez that he believed he had been fired by the federation at the request of Hermoso and other members of the women’s international side, but denied having any “animosity” towards her.
Garcia Cuervo also said a federation statement prepared in the hours after the final — in which Hermoso was quoted as saying the kiss was “an anecdote” — had been compiled on Rubiales’ orders and that he had based it on a radio interview the player had given that evening to Cadena Cope.
Garcia Cuervo after his testimony (Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)
The former communications director also said he had shown the statement to Hermoso, who did not have a problem with him sending it to the media. “If she did not want the statement sent out, she could have said no and it would not have been sent out,” he said.
Garcia Cuervo was reprimanded by Judge Fernandez-Prieto on a number of occasions during his testimony on Tuesday. In response to one question from Durantez as to why he believed Hermoso would “change her story” of the events, Garcia Cuervo said: “I consider that Jennifer Hermoso is a person who can be influenced and manipulated and can change her mind.” Judge Fernandez-Prieto responded by telling Garcia Cuervo, “Let’s leave Jennifer Hermoso’s statements to one side.”
On Monday, Hermoso said she had known the kiss was wrong from the moment it happened and had caused her great distress, but that when speaking from the stadium, she had not wanted to dwell on a negative as she and her team celebrated their victory.
Hermoso answered questions for two-and-a-half hours on day one, testifying that she had felt severe isolation and hurt through the following days as Rubiales and other RFEF staff tried to get her to agree that she had no problem with what happened.
Hermoso said she had felt trapped inside her house and received death threats. She testified that she felt “completely alone”, saying she had received no help from the federation.
The trial continues.
(Top photo: De la Fuente leaves court after testifying in the trial; by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)
