The judge of the ‘Rubiales case’ extends the round of interrogations and summons another teammate of Jenni Hermoso | Sports

Francisco de Jorge, judge of the National Court, has decided to extend the round of interrogations in the Rubiales case. The magistrate has called Laia Codina, Jennifer Hermoso’s teammate in the Spanish team, to testify as witnesses; and the president of the National Women’s Soccer Committee, Rafael del Amo. According to legal sources, the appointment has been set for next Monday, coinciding with the fact that Albert Luque, director of the men’s national team, also has to attend that day, although the latter is a defendant.

Judge De Jorge thus extends his investigations, opened at the request of the National Court Prosecutor’s Office, which filed a complaint focused on two crimes. One of sexual assault, for the kiss that Luis Rubiales, former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), gave to Jenni Hermoso during the celebration for the victory in the Women’s World Cup, whose final was played in Sydney. And another crime of coercion, due to the alleged pressure deployed in the hours and days that followed against the athlete and her entourage to publicly support the version of the former director, cornered after the scandal broke.

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Laia Codina was one of the players who explained in the media how the incident had been experienced among the internationals. In an interview on Catalunya Radio, asked about the kiss, she related it like this: “In the locker room we started to see the news, but when we really started to be aware of the facts, also of Rubiales’s gesture with the Queen, it was on the bus. . It is when we are really aware of it, when one of the veterans tells us: ‘Be careful, girls, what happened is very serious, it is unacceptable and we must condemn it because, in the end, it is still an abuse of power from the boss towards a player, who could have been any of us.”

For his part, Rafael del Amo was the only territorial baron who asked for Rubiales’ resignation within the RFEF in the first days, and went so far as to announce his resignation as president of the National Women’s Football Committee and the Navarrese federation.

After opening the case, Judge De Jorge began a round of interrogations, which began with Rubiales himself on September 15, when he denied the crimes attributed to him and stated that the kiss on Hermoso was consensual —despite his allegations, The magistrate imposed a restraining order 200 meters away from the player. Then two experts proposed by the defense, experts in lip reading, testified; and a brother and a friend of the athlete, who confirmed in the Court that the footballer received pressure after the “non-consensual” kiss of the then president of the RFEF. Three other teammates (Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes and Misa Rodríguez) also supported the version of the Pachuca forward.

The list of interrogations already carried out is completed with the press manager of the women’s soccer team, Patricia Pérez, who confirmed the existence of maneuvers in the federation to get the player to support Rubiales’ version; and with that of Miguel García Caba, who was director of the Integrity area and deputy secretary general of the RFEF, dismissed in September. As defendants, two other defendants have also appeared before the judge: former coach Jorge Vilda and Rubén Rivera, head of marketing for the Federation, who denied their involvement in any type of coercion.

After the interrogation of Albert Luque as a defendant and Laia Codina and Rafael del Amo as witnesses on October 16, the magistrate plans to continue in November with the statements, also as witnesses, of Luis de la Fuente, coach of the men’s soccer team. ; of the dismissed communications director of the RFEF, Pablo García-Cuervo, and his second, Enrique Yunta; the psychologist of the women’s team, Javier López Vallejo; of Rubiales’ former cabinet director, José María Timón; and the compliance officer [buenas prácticas] of the federation, Javier Pujol.

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2023-10-13 15:18:43
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