Former Spain women's coach Jorge Vilda denied pressing Jenni Hermoso to underplay a kiss she received from former football federation head Luis Rubiales.
Rubiales has been charged with sexual assault and coercion after kissing Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony following Spain's victory over England in the Women's World Cup final in Sydney, Australia, on August 20.
Rubiales was the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) at the time, but he resigned after the kiss sparked outrage.
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He said the kiss was reciprocal and consenting, but Hermoso claimed it was performed without her permission.
The National Court of Spain, Spain's highest criminal court, increased the scope of its probe last month to include Vilda and two other federation executives suspected of attempting to persuade Hermoso to endorse Rubiales after the kiss and called them to appear for interrogation.
During Tuesday's closed-door session, Vilda, fired as coach just weeks after the World Cup final, denied pressuring Hermoso and her brother, according to judicial sources.
According to the sources, the federation's chief of marketing, Ruben Rivera, who appeared in court on Tuesday, likewise disputed the accusation of coercion.
They said federation officials pressured Hermoso and her family to downplay the kiss and claim it was consensual in the aftermath of Rubiales' behavior.
According to a leaked audio of Hermoso's conversation with the prosecutor, which aired late Monday on private channel Telecinco, she informed the prosecutor that during the flight back to Spain from Sydney, Vilda begged her brother to assist "downplay" the kiss.
"My brother said he was suggesting that if I helped, things could go well for me...that it was what I had to do," she added.
