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On Thursday, Irene Paredes, Laia Codina, and Alexia Putellas, teammates of Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso, provided testimony at the Madrid trial of Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Their testimony supported Hermoso's account of feeling overwhelmed following the alleged non-consensual kiss by Rubiales, who faces charges of sexual assault and coercion.
Ms Putellas said Ms Hermoso had felt "overwhelmed" after the incident, while Ms Codina said she was "sad" and "not enjoying herself".
Mr Rubiales kissed Ms Hermoso on the lips during the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup medal ceremony in Australia, triggering protests and calls for his resignation. He denies any wrongdoing.
Ms Hermoso had told the court on Monday she had never given permission to be kissed at the World Cup medal ceremony and felt "disrespected" as a woman.
Ms Putellas said she thought at the time the incident had been something "fortuitous" and a "misunderstanding" but Ms Hermoso then later showed her a video and said she did not know how it occurred to Mr Rubiales to kiss her, according to local Spanish media.
The court heard from Ms Paredes that while on the bus to the airport after the World Cup final, she told her teammates to stop making jokes about the incident, saying it was "serious".
The 31-year-old said Ms Hermoso was asked to speak to Mr Rubiales on the plane who told her that she should "come out" and "deny that there was no consent" in the kiss.
"She was angry and she said that there was no need for him to explain the facts to her because she had experienced it, that she wasn't going to do that," Ms Putellas said.
Three colleagues of Mr Rubiales are also on trial, accused of colluding in the alleged coercion: Jorge Vilda, coach of the World Cup-winning side, Rubén Rivera, the federation's former head of marketing, and former sporting director, Albert Luque. They all deny the charges.
Prosecutors are calling for Mr Rubiales to receive a one-year prison sentence for sexual assault for the kiss.
They are also calling for him to be given a sentence of a year-and-a-half for coercion, for allegedly trying to pressure Ms Hermoso into saying publicly that the kiss was consensual.
Mr Rubiales denies the charges. The trial continues.
