The former head of the women’s soccer team, Jorge Vildadenied this Tuesday before the judge that he had coerced the player Jenni Hermoso and his surroundings to say publicly that the kiss of Rubiales It was consented.
Vilda has appeared before the investigating judge of the case, Francisco de Jorge, and the lieutenant prosecutor of the National Court, Marta Durántez, accompanied by his lawyer, that is, as a defendant. The first statements in the case, including the player’s complaint and the testimony of her brother, led him to change the initial status of witness that had been attributed to him to that of being investigated for an alleged crime of coercion.
Vilda’s pressure would have been directed at Jenni’s brother during the flight back from Australia after the World Cup victory, according to investigation sources. The former coach has acknowledged that on the trip he spoke with Rafa Hermoso, but in a tone and intensity far from what a crime of coercion could imply. He asked him, he said, to “lower the soufflé” in the matter of the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) kissing his sister, as explained by sources present in the statement.
In addition to the former coach, dismissed as a result of the scandal, the marketing director of the RFEF, Ruben Rivera. She has also done so as an accused and, like Vilda, has denied the coercion attributed to her.
In her complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office, Jenni Hermoso maintained that her family had been pressured to say publicly that the kiss was consensual. “They told my family that I had been very important, that I deserved it and that they tried to convince me to help downplay the importance of the event,” declared the player, according to the recording of her appearance offered by Telecinco.