"At no time was the kiss consensual" - Jenni Hermoso says her image has been 'tarnished' after Luis Rubiales incident

Jenni Hermoso has once again insisted that the kiss on stage with former Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales was not consensual. She added that there was always support for her but remained clear that there was no communication ahead of the kiss.

In her statement to Spanish prosecutors, Hermoso stated that she informed Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes of the incident as soon as she got off the stage. She said (via GOAL):

"At no time was the kiss consensual. They tarnished my image; I felt, as a player and worker of the Federation, that no one was protecting me. They were asking me to protect them, to help them, but at no time did I feel that no one was protecting me."

"I was a little more nervous. I don't deserve to have experienced all this. It has been very difficult for me not to be able to leave the house. I have had to leave Madrid to not have that pressure I had from people who only wanted to hurt me. Why do I have to be repressed? or crying in a room when I haven't done anything?"

She added:

"We were at the final ceremony. They gave me the medal, I greeted the Queen, I hugged her daughter and the next one was Rubiales. He jumped on me, I stood firm to support him, he told me 'we have won this World Cup thanks to you', and the next thing was his hands on my head. I didn't see anything else and I saw myself with the kiss on the mouth."

Hermoso added that they quickly changed focus back to their celebrations as they did not want the kiss to ruin the moment they became world champions.

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Luis Rubiales was forced to resign after kiss with Jenni Hermoso

Luis Rubiales called a press conference earlier in the summer and surprised the media by stating that he was not going to resign. He added that a kiss was not going to bring him down and was ready to fight for his place claiming that it was consensual.

However, FIFA handed him a ban in August - an initial 90-day ban pending further disciplinary proceedings. The suspension left Rubiales with very little choice and issued his resignation.

The Spaniard spoke to Piers Morgan and confirmed that he had sent his resignation. He admitted that the suspension and case opened against him was the only reason for him leaving his post.