Spain women's coach Montse Tome testified before a judge Monday, denying that she omitted Jenni Hermoso from the national team as a form of punishment amid the fallout from former football federation President Luis Rubiales’ controversial kiss.
Rubiales faces charges of sexual assault for kissing Hermoso during the 2023 Women’s World Cup final presentation ceremony, as well as coercion for allegedly pressuring her to support his version of events. Hermoso maintains she did not consent, while Rubiales insists the kiss was mutual.
Three former federation officials are also on trial for allegedly attempting to coerce Hermoso into downplaying the incident.
Hermoso’s brother testified last week that former team coach Jorge Vilda, one of the accused, threatened Hermoso by saying her future could be in danger if she refused to record a video with Rubiales to minimize the incident.
Tome, a former assistant to Vilda who took over as head coach shortly after the World Cup, left Hermoso out of her first squad. She said at the time the decision was made to protect the player from the media circus surrounding the case.
"It wasn’t a punishment,” Tome said multiple times while testifying at the start of the trial’s second week in Madrid. "I did not include her in the first call-up for sporting reasons. What I said about protecting her, because of the exceptional situation we were going through, was also part of those reasons.”
Tome claimed the intense media scrutiny at the time could have affected Hermoso’s performance.
"Everything affects sporting performance,” Tome said.
The other two federation officials on trial for coercion are former Spain men’s team sporting director Albert Luque and former head of marketing Rubén Rivera.
Rubiales is expected to testify Tuesday. He resigned under pressure three weeks after the scandal erupted and was banned by FIFA for three years. Rubiales has said he is the victim of a "witch hunt” by "false feminists.”
Hermoso testified on the trial’s opening day last week, saying she "felt disrespected” by Rubiales after Spain’s World Cup triumph. She said the kiss "stained one of the happiest days of my life.”
The incident sparked outrage in Spain over sexism in sports and beyond.
Prosecutors, Hermoso and the Spain players’ association are seeking a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Rubiales, a 50,000 euro ($51,800) fine for damages, and a ban from working as a sports official. They are also seeking one-and-a-half-year prison sentences for the other three defendants.