Former Newcastle United, Deportivo La Coruna and Spain forward Albert Luque was suspended this week by the RFEF after charges of coercion were brought against him by the public prosecutor. Some of the messages he sent to Spain star Jenni Hermoso in reaction to her decision not to come out and publicly forgive Luis Rubiales for his non-consensual kiss have come to light.
Rubiales is facing 2.5 years in prison if he is found guilty of sexual assault and coercion, while Spain men’s Sporting Director Luque, ex-Spain women’s boss Jorge Vilda and ex-marketing manager Ruben Rivera are all facing 1.5 years in jail for coercion.
Luque and Rivera traveled to Spain’s post-World Cup party in Ibiza to try to get Hermoso to change her mind on publicly playing down the incident, but Hermoso refused to do so, as per Diario AS. Some of the messages that Luque sent Hermoso after that have come to light.
He told Hermoso that she was a ‘bad person’, and that he ‘hoped she ended up alone in life’. ‘He also said he would take pleasure from it were that to happen.
The Spain team stood behind Hermoso, and through no faut of her own, she became the subject of global media storm, and significant pressure and abuse. Hermoso’s family members were also pressured.