De la Fuente was 'unaware' of forced kiss scandal backlash

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente on Tuesday told the trial of ex-soccer federation chief Luis Rubiales that he initially knew nothing of the scandal's scale or efforts to silence it.

Rubiales provoked worldwide outrage for kissing Jenni Hermoso after she had just helped Spain beat England to lift the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia.

The scandal forced Rubiales to resign in disgrace, and has made Hermoso an icon in the fight against macho culture and sexism in sport.

Prosecutors are seeking two-and-a-half years in prison for Rubiales, one year for sexual assault for the forced kiss and 18 months for allegedly coercing Hermoso, 34, to downplay the incident.

Rubiales, 47, has called the kiss an innocuous "peck between friends celebrating" and denied any coercion.

De la Fuente told the National Court just outside Madrid that he knew nothing about a media statement prepared in Hermoso's name to hush the growing furore.

The men's team coach, appointed during Rubiales' 2018-2023 tenure, said he found out about the kiss on the flight back to Spain, but was "unaware of the scale" of the backlash.

He denied participating in a crisis meeting between top federation officials on Aug 23, 2023, saying he "didn't exchange a word" with federation media chief Patricia Perez Requena. "They said, 'we're getting into a huge mess with the kiss business', but then went on to speak about matters that concerned me," De la Fuente said.

Former communications director Pablo Garcia Cuervo, sacked by the federation after the scandal erupted, defended his role in the drafting of the statement.

He told the court he wrote it from an interview Hermoso had given to Spanish media and obtained her permission.

The trial is due to continue until Feb 19.

AFP