Luis Rubiales: The president of the Spanish Football Federation refuses to resign after heavy criticism over an unwanted kiss on Jennifer Hermoso

CNN
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The president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, has refused to resign as president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) after a week of intense criticism after a video emerged of him placing an unwanted kiss on a star of Spain’s World Cup-winning women’s team.

Rubiales spoke at the Spanish Football Federation’s extraordinary general assembly on Friday, saying he would “fight to the end” and refusing to resign in a defiant speech in which he spoke of “unfair” campaigns and “fake feminism”.

Rubiales was filmed forcibly kissing Spanish star Jennifer Hermoso, who helped him La Roja She won her first Women’s World Cup title on Sunday in Sydney – on the lips after collecting a winners’ medal, an act the 33-year-old World Cup winner later said she “didn’t like” and “didn’t expect”. “.

Rubiales admitted on Monday that he had “made a mistake”, but criticism continued throughout the week from the football world and Spanish politicians, including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who said an apology for what he called an “unacceptable gesture” was “not enough”.

The embattled chief issued a strong defense of his actions in the final, saying, “Everyone there – even some of them my family and daughters – the desire that would have been present in that kiss is exactly the same thing that would have been the giving.” A kiss to one of my daughters. No more, no less.

“It was a spontaneous kiss… It was spontaneous, mutual, exhilarating, with consent, and that’s the key. This is the key to all the criticism, all the campaign that has been waged in this country: that it was without consent. No, it was with consent.

Rubiales also said he was not in a position of control during the kiss and wanted to console Hermoso, who missed a penalty to put Spain 2-0 up in the final.

He explained, “I told her: You were amazing, we would not have won the World Cup without you.” She replied to me: “You are wonderful. I said: “You are young?” And she said: “Okay.”

On Wednesday, after fierce criticism of Rubiales’ kiss from journalists, politicians and campaign groups, Hermoso said that FUTPRO and its agency TMJ “will defend my interests and act as spokespersons in this matter.”

Then FIFA said on Thursday it had opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales because he may have breached the “fundamental rules of proper behaviour” in the game.

More to track…