Luis Rubiales interview with Piers Morgan, fact checked

It came as a surprise to many when Luis Rubiales announced in an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV on Sunday evening that he would resign from his position as president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). He then issued a statement that oozed everything except a hint of self-criticism.

Rubiales’ full conversation with Morgan was shown Tuesday night. An interview almost as awkward as the speech the former president gave four days after his return from the Women’s World Cup in Australia.

Once again, the man being prosecuted for sexual assault after an unwanted kiss on Jennifer Hermoso has tried to position himself as a victim in this sorry saga.

The athlete I watched Rubiales’ interview and analyzed his main answers…

On the repercussions of the events that followed Spain’s victory in the World Cup final…

I was out of this tsunami, but at the same time I suffered with my family; I suffered with my friends; And a lot of people were lying. With all these lies, the truth did not emerge.

What lies, Mr. Rubiales? Haven’t we all seen it?

The images of the World Cup final, broadcast around the world, were clear: Rubiales threw himself over a player who had to steady herself so his weight wouldn’t tangle her to the ground, and then caught her. She cupped her face with both hands and blew a kiss without having time to respond or offer any kind of approval.

When celebrating Spain’s victory by grabbing his genitals, Rubiales apologized only to the Spanish royal family, who watched the final with him.

“That’s why I’m really ashamed, more from an internal perspective than anything else. There are no excuses. In Spain, with both men and women, there’s an expression that can probably be translated into something like, ‘oh my genitals.’ So this vulgar expression, What it basically means is: ‘Bravo, well done.’ And when the final whistle blew, (Spain coach) Jorge Villeda looked at me and said: ‘This is for you’, pointing very strongly. I pointed back and said: ‘No, no, this is for you, this For you, despite all the suffering we’ve been through.”

Rubiales said there were “no excuses” for his behaviour, but then proceeded to offer congratulations, saying he wanted to congratulate the coach, Jorge Villeda, the only male member of the winning team on the pitch. It is well known that the players and the coach did not speak for almost the entire World Cup, yet Rubiales believed that the players’ victory was down to the coach who never knew how to manage such a talented team.

On the “peck” on Hermoso…

He added: “Of course, I said that from the beginning. I made a mistake, and I apologized sincerely.

“I was very happy, and I felt like another player. But as the president of the association, I apologized unreservedly, and this is not the behavior of the president of the association.”

It is worth noting that “from the beginning” he did not apologize for this, but only tried to justify his actions. He was asked several times during his television interview if he would apologize directly to Hermoso, and he refused to do so.

“It was a mutual action, she came towards me very happy. She picked me up, lifted me into the air… We were both emotional. When we got to the ground, I had a quick chat with her. We congratulated each other. I gave her a quick kiss. So I asked her can I kiss you? With a quick kiss, which is normal in our country. I think she slapped me on the side, and she was laughing, and that was it. No intention. Of course there is no sexual connotation to anything. Just a moment of happiness, just great joy in that moment.

“I want to make clear that at no time did the conversation that Mr. Luis Rubiales referred to in his letter take place, and above all, was his kiss consensual at all,” Hermoso said in her statement dated August 25. “I want to reiterate as I have done before that “I did not like this incident.”

Hermoso didn’t lift Rubiales either. He pushed himself on top of her, almost making her lose her balance.

About the celebrations after Spain won the World Cup…

“Amazing harmony, everyone is happy. I think Latino people, which is a cultural thing, have this touch, which is very normal in the Latino world between guys and girls.”

I don’t know in which culture it’s normal for your boss to kiss you on the mouth. After working for 10 years in Spain, and being born there, no one did that to me. never. I don’t kiss my friends or family on the mouth. This is not a “Latino culture” thing.

More about the Qibla…

“I have three daughters. I saw the reaction before, during and after. Again, I will say that all of this was because of a very happy moment, a celebration, a joyful moment. There was no harm, no sexual context, no assault, nothing like that.”

“As president, again, I will say…the significance of the kiss to Jenny was exactly the same as the kiss to one of my daughters. Among friends and family, this is very common.”

Hermoso didn’t say the same. She said she felt weak. What she didn’t expect this time was to get a lot of support after she decided to speak out against Rubiales.

Again, this is not a “very common” action, which is why many people were outraged by what Rubiales did.

Asked if he would do the same with male players…

“No doubt about it, 100%… When I was a player, there were many moments when we avoided relegation or got promotion, where we did what we call lip-tacks.”

Let’s take a look at the last medal he won with the male players. This year, Rubiales reached the final of the Men’s Spanish Super Cup, which was held in Saudi Arabia. He was one of the driving forces behind moving the competition there, to a country described by Amnesty International as having an “appalling” human rights record. But there he was, handing out medals to Barcelona’s male players – without any peck, hug or gesture that could be seen as misconduct in any way.

On his legacy as president…

“We have invested in the work we have done. We have built the budget from €3m (£2.6m; $3.2m) to €27m. The elements of professionalism we have brought to this team, we have more teams below the national level. This makes me sad very very”.

Spain has been awash with the talent of its players who have developed a lot thanks to their individual work and the work of clubs like Barcelona. The national team did not keep pace with this development. So much so that some players felt like they were wasting their time calling. They did not feel professional with the national team.

Then the Spanish Federation invested in a nutritionist, in more physiotherapists, in a psychologist, in charter flights, and in fewer hours on the bus after the “15” revolution, players who decided that enough was enough last September. And not of their own free will. This is nothing to brag about.

Facing criminal charges.

“I am a lawyer, I am a Spanish citizen, I have been through many proceedings, also criminal, and nothing has ever stuck… I have complete faith that the truth will come out and that everything will be fine… Take a look at my case.” “My face, I’m a good guy.”

Rubiales has not been far from accusations of wrongdoing during his presidency, but he is right: he has never “commented anything.” We’ll see if it’s different this time.

(Top image: Maja Hettig – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)