“Certainly I was wrong. I have to admit it. If there are people who have felt damaged I have to apologize, there is no other option. I will be more careful.” These are the words with which Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Federation, in a video recorded in Sydney, tries to save himself from the political and media storm he had plunged into for having kissed a female player, Jenni Hermoso, on the mouth during the world championship award. Images that had gone around the world, causing great confusion everywhere, but especially in Madrid, where several ministers also spoke out against the Iberian football boss.
The accusation against him is that of having acted in a violent, sexist and male-dominated way. Irene Montero, minister of equality of Podemos, was the first to attack it: “Let’s not assume that kissing without consent is something ‘that happens’. It is a form of sexual violence that women suffer daily and until now invisible “.
Sumar was also very harsh and immediately asked for his resignation: “The image he has shown to the world is that of repugnant machismo. It cannot go unpunished”, says one of his MEPs. The minister of sport and culture, the socialist Miquel Iceta, also intervenes on the matter, who was the first to demand an apology from him, which arrived a few hours later. As for the player, hot, after the game, on her social networks, he had admitted that she did not like her. But then, in a note released by the Federation, she herself had appeased the controversy by asking not to make a case of it: “It was a completely spontaneous reciprocal gesture for the immense joy that winning a World Cup gives. The president and I – he concluded Hermoso – we have a great relationship, his behavior with all of us was great and that was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.”
At the end of the day, the apology, evidently the result of strong pressure, given that Rubiales’ first reactions to the criticisms had been anything but soft. Indeed, he had counterattacked using strong words, insulting those who had stigmatized his conduct: “The kiss with Jenni? There are idiots everywhere – he told the newspaper Marca – we cannot pay attention to idiocy. We are champions, this is enough for me”. But even on this point, in the video, he had to make a sharp reverse: “I also want to apologize to these people, because I understand that, if it was seen differently from the outside, they certainly had their reasons. I’m sad – he concluded contritely – because in the face of the greatest success in the history of women’s football, the second World Cup in Spain, all of this somewhat overshadowed the celebration.”
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2023-08-22 17:29:45
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