The siege has tightened so much for Luis Rubiales that in the next few hours he will stage his goodbye as the head of Spanish football after five years of conflict and just five days after the women’s soccer team was crowned world champion in Sydney. The president of the Spanish Federation (FEF) planned to defend his efforts to make women’s football grow in the last five years in the extraordinary general assembly scheduled for this Friday at the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas, but he has reconsidered and says bye bye.
The initial idea was to obtain the support of the territorial federations to appease spirits and resist political pressure to resign. However, Jennifer Hermoso’s statement through the Futpro union, which represents the soccer player and which demands that the CSD intervene due to the unfortunate kiss on the mouth that the soccer boss gave her at the celebration of Spain in the soccer World Cup feminine, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Rubiales’ goodbye was taking shape and the hardness of the blows received as the hours progressed led to thinking of the farewell as the only valid option. The Government squeezed one day from the assembly waiting for “a clear gesture of rejection” to Rubiales, who was increasingly alone. This was made known by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Miquel Iceta, who warned in an interview that if football did not fix the problem, the Executive would notify the Administrative Court of Sports (TAD) of the complaints it has for his gesture sexist. “It is the great opportunity for Spanish football to show that it not only respects the rights of women but that it is going to defend them,” he said.
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The social pressure was already unbearable for Rubiales, who plans to give explanations about what happened with the Spanish player as well as review what he has done under his mandate in relation to the growth of women’s football, but he is dejected. It is not clear whether the assembly will be held, since for there to be a quorum at least half of the 140 members must attend and throughout this Thursday several of the assembly members said they had no intention of attending.
Throughout the afternoon of this Thursday, when Rubiales’ resignation took shape, a first summit took place between the leader, his cabinet and different territorial leaders to decide who can provisionally lead Spanish football. This time, Rubiales does not use the classic strategy of calling the Spanish football assembly to overcome the crisis and stay in office.
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Calling the territorial authorities every time the leader of the Federation is threatened is a maneuver that his predecessor in office, Ángel María Villar, used to do, who was disqualified by the Administrative Court of Sports, a body that depends on the Superior Council de Deportes (CSD), and that he had the key to remove Rubiales from his post.
According to the new Sports Law, he could be disqualified from between 2 and 15 years for his improper conduct, according to articles 104 and 108 of the aforementioned regulation, in which the act of kissing by force is classified as “unacceptable conduct that will entail immediate consequences.” An action that fully touches gender equality, one of the flags of a coalition government that boasts of being at the forefront of the defense and protection of women.
Only 4% of women
The assembly, the only direct body capable of presenting a motion of censure to remove its president, is made up of 140 members (20 ex officio and 120 elected), almost all of them under the control of Rubiales and with an absolute male majority. Only six women are part of it: four non-professional players, one futsal and one referee. This is equivalent to 4.3% of the representation.
“There is no parity, it is very presidential and not very democratic,” laments the legal advisor of the Association of Spanish Soccer Players (AFE), María José López, who points out that, despite the fact that the presidents of the regional federations are chosen by their own organizations, “many depend on Rubiales”, since it is he who gives them a specific position in the federative organization chart. It doesn’t matter anymore. From this Friday, Rubi will become history.
2023-08-24 19:17:09
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