Luis Rubiales and his father accused of pressuring Spain press officer for false evidence in Jenni Hermoso kiss investigation

Luis Rubiales allegedly pressured a Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) press officer to say that Jenni Hermoso authorised statements exonerating him.

In the wake of the kiss that Rubiales gave Hermoso after Spain's Women's World Cup final win against England, the RFEF released a statement saying that the star player gave consent to the then-RFEF president.

According to El Confidencial, Rubiales and his father put pressure on the head of the Spain women's team's press office to state in writing that Hermoso authorised the release of the statements that dismissed the controversy.

That testimony from Patricia Perez, who is the head of the communications department, was allegedly used by the RFEF's Integrity Department in order to issue a favourable ruling for Rubiales, who initially resisted pressure to resign from his post and was suspended by FIFA for 90 days before finally stepping down.

Perez was summoned to a meeting with Rubiales, his father and other members of the RFEF and its Integrity Department.

She is reported to have said that «since the press was asking about the kiss, it was proposed by the Communication Department to release some statements about it, and once approved by [Hermoso], they were sent to the media».

However, Hermoso had said on an Instagram Live after the final that she did not like Rubiales' actions and later clarified in a statement of her own: «I feel obliged to report that Mr. Rubiales’ words explaining the unfortunate incident are are categorically false and part of the manipulative culture that he himself has generated. The kiss was never consensual.»

She hit out at the RFEF again and new coach Montse Tome for insisting that they are protecting her by not calling the star up to the national team