Sport kiss affair escalates
Riot against head of association – Spain’s players go on strike
Status: 11:24 am | Reading time: 3 minutes
“There seems to be a man fighting the last fight of his career”
Luis Rubiales is not stepping down after the kissing scandal at the Women’s World Cup awards ceremony. Instead, the head of the Spanish association wants to “sue everyone who has said bad things about him,” reports Walter M. Straten.
The scandal surrounding the head of the Spanish association Luis Rubiales escalates. The Spanish players draw drastic consequences from the man’s refusal to resign. The association accuses a world champion of lying.
The national players led by Jennifer Hermoso are on strike, the football association RFEF, headed by controversial President Luis Rubiales, is threatening lawsuits – the kissing debate after Spain’s World Cup victory is becoming more and more acute.
Hermoso responded to Rubiales’ refusal to resign last Friday with a detailed statement that could not have been clearer: “I felt vulnerable and the victim of an impulsive, sexist and inappropriate act that I did not consent to. Simply put, I wasn’t respected,” the 33-year-old wrote in a statement shared on the social networks Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.
Association boss Luis Rubiales not only hugged the Spanish players. He kissed one on the mouth
Source: AFP/FRANCK FIFE
Shortly before, all the players in the Spanish team had announced that they would not play again as long as Rubiales was still in office. “It makes us very sad that such unacceptable behavior overshadows the greatest sporting success of Spanish women’s football,” said the statement published on X by the players’ union Futpro, signed by 81 footballers.
“After everything that happened at the Women’s World Cup, we want to make it clear that all signing players will not play for the national team if the current leadership team remains in place.”
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A player also shows solidarity: Borja Iglesias no longer wants to play for Spain in protest against Rubiales as association boss. “As a player and as a person, I don’t feel represented by what happened,” the Real Betis forward wrote on Network X on Friday.
Many politicians speak out
After the 1-0 win in the World Cup final against England last Sunday in Sydney, Rubiales held Hermoso’s head with both hands and kissed him on the mouth. A little later, Hermoso said in a video that she didn’t think it was great. As a result, a large number of politicians, other football officials and players massively criticized Rubiales and called for his resignation.
US star Alex Morgan wrote that she was disgusted. The English women, who lost in the final, also showed their solidarity with Hermoso. “Abuse is abuse and we’ve all seen the truth,” they wrote. “The behavior of those who believe they are invincible should not be tolerated and people should not need to be persuaded to take action against any form of harassment.”
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The Spanish government also opposed the 46-year-old Rubiales. Spain’s acting Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Ribera told the Europa Press news agency that she would do everything “in her power” to ensure that Rubiales lost his post.
The federation, on the other hand, published a statement on its website late on Friday evening defending Rubiales and threatening lawsuits against Hermoso and Futpro. The key point is Hermoso’s statement that she did not agree to the kiss and did not lift Rubiales, as claimed by him. The association accuses its world champion of lying.
Association cites photos as evidence
The RFEF put four photos online to exonerate the association boss and also described in detail the posture of Rubiales and Hermoso.
The pictures are proof that Rubiales did not lie. They show Rubiales being held by Hermoso, two of which have his legs in the air. Whether the striker lifted him up or whether he jumped up of his own accord cannot be proven from the short series of pictures.
Sport Minister Miquel Iceta said the government would seek a swift removal of Rubiales from office. “As far as it depends on us, it’s the last hours of Rubiales,” he told El País newspaper.
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The highest Spanish sports authority CSD applied to the national sports court Tad for the suspension of Rubiales. “Mr Rubiales was disappointed in his reaction, he didn’t do what he should have done,” said CSD boss Víctor Francos in reference to the speech by the highest official in Spanish football.
