Sports

Women’s World Cup: Spanish FA president to quit over kiss scandal

Spanish FA president, Luis Rubiales, will quit his position after being roundly condemned by the football world and beyond for forcibly kissing a Spain player, Jennifer Hermoso, on the lips during the Women’s World Cup final trophy celebrations.

Rubiales, 46, will submit his resignation as president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Friday, August 25, 2023, at an extraordinary general assembly, according to reports.

After Spain’s 1-0 win over England in the final in Sydney on Sunday, Rubiales gave midfielder Hermoso an unsolicited kiss on the lips. He also celebrated victory by grabbing his genitals.

“Feminism is changing everything,” Spain’s Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, wrote on social media shortly after the reports emerged.

Rubiales came under unprecedented pressure to resign, with days of criticism from figures including Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s women’s league, and several men’s La Liga clubs, as well as internationally.

FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales on Thursday, saying the incident “may constitute violations of article 13 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the FIFA disciplinary code”.

Hermoso released a joint statement with union Futpro on Wednesday, which called for action to be taken against the RFEF president.

“We are working to ensure that acts such as those we have seen never go unpunished, that they are sanctioned and that the exemplary measures are adopted to protect women footballers from actions that we believe are unacceptable,” she said.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International offered their backing to Hermoso on Thursday.

The organisation said: “Amnesty International wants to show their support for the demands of the player, who has asked the (RFEF) to set underway ‘exemplary measures’ regarding the non-consensual kiss.

“(We) underline that this behaviour is a form of sexual violence like any other, and cannot be justified in any way.”

Rubiales laughed off the incident earlier in the week, branding his critics “idiots” for reading too much into what an RFEF spokesman initially described as a “spontaneous celebration”.

However, he later issued an apology which was also criticised, with Prime Minister Sanchez saying it was “insufficient”.

The Star