Former Spanish FA President Luis Rubiales has been summoned by the High Court in Madrid to testify over his allegedly unsolicited kiss on the lips of Spain's Jennifer Hermoso after the Women's World Cup final last month.
Rubiales will have to appear before the court at 12:00 local time to be heard as an "accused" and to respond to accusations of "sexual assault", the Madrid court said in a statement Tuesday.
Judge Francisco de Jorge of the National Court admitted a complaint against Rubiales on Monday filed by Spanish prosecutors last week regarding alleged "crimes of sexual assault and "coercion".
Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a criminal category that groups together all types of sexual violence.
The penalties for a forced kiss can range from a fine to four years in prison, according to sources from the public prosecutors' office.
After kissing the 33-year-old footballer, Rubiales first claimed that the kiss was nothing more than a moment between two friends.
Meanwhile, Hermoso denied the 46-year-old's claims saying that she didn’t consent to the kiss and felt "vulnerable and the victim of an aggression".
She was also backed by the Spanish government — who strongly denounced Rubiales’ actions — and Spain's football federation, who said that it would take legal action to defend Rubiales, defended the 33-year-old striker.
Rubiales stepped down as the Spanish Football Federation's president on Sunday but continued to defend himself over the kiss.
"I have faith in the truth and I will do everything in my power so that it prevails," Rubiales wrote in an open letter.
It must be noted that the Spain women's team also mutinied. In a joint statement sent via their FUTPRO union, all 23 of the cup-winning squad including Hermoso, as well as 32 other squad members, said they would not play internationals while Rubiales remains head of the federation.
Rubiales was called out by top footballers, Spain's government officials and FIFA as well.
He refused to resign or apologise at first but he did the latter after some time.
However, a lot of people thought that the apology wasn't enough and he should resign, to which he denied.
