Did Luis Rubiales just make the worst decision of his career, possibly ending it?
After Spain’s 1-0 win against England in the Women’s World Cup final, emotions were high with happiness immeasurable; however, does that excuse the kiss shared between Luis Rubiales and Jenni Hermoso?
The president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales and team captain Jenni Hermoso engaged in an awkward kiss during the awards ceremony. Afterwards, Hermoso immediately told her teammates, “Hey, I didn’t like it,” while in their locker room. While inside of the players’ dressing room, Rubiales, in contrast, was overheard on an Instagram live saying that he was going to “pay for a trip to Ibiza where he was going to marry Hermoso.” Hermoso later spoke about the incident on Instagram stating that she did not enjoy or consent to the kiss, and was a victim of sexism.
After this incident, the Spanish FA published a statement on behalf of Jenni Hermoso, which stated that Hermoso and Rubiales have a strong relationship and that the kiss that happened between them was completely consensual and happened due to the happiness they experienced from winning the world cup. Hermoso later revealed that she did not write this statement and was not even informed that such a statement was going to be made. Many people were shocked and angry about how Rubiales could get away with forcing Hermoso to kiss him, and declared that he should resign as president.
In contrast, Rubiales proclaimed that the criticism surrounding the topic is “idiotic and should be ignored.” The following day Rubiales admitted publicly that he was in the wrong, however this was not enough to compensate for the harm done. On August 26th FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) temporarily suspended Rubiales from any football-related activities for 90 days. Rubiales expressed that a tiny consensual peck should not be a reason to end his career. Although he refused, representatives of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) still urged his resignation. The entirety of the winning Women’s World Cup team, along with elite figures in the male Spanish football community, including the FCBarcelona manager, have attacked Rubiales following the incident. The entire team also refused to play for the Spanish national side unless there was a change within the presidency of the football federation.
Presumably due to the pressure put on him, on the 10th of September Rubiales notified Pedro Rocha (the interim president of the RFEF) announcing his resignation. The directors of the RFEF have now called an election to find a replacement for Rubiales. Spanish prosecutors have stated that Hermoso being forced to defend Rubiales could be classified as coercion and the act itself could constitute as sexual assault.
Apart from a potential criminal case and an investigation launched into Rubiales by Spain’s Administrative Sports Court, the incident has started more conversations on the sexual abuse that many female athletes have endured, and opened many people´s eyes on why such matters should be spoken about.
Bibliography:
Boxerman, Aaron. “Luis Rubiales and Spain’s Kiss Scandal at the World Cup, Explained.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Aug. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/08/29/world/europe/spain-world-cup-kiss-rubiales-what-happened.html.
Dazed. “Luis Rubiales: A Rundown of the Controversy around the Spanish FA President.” Dazed, 11 Sept. 2023, www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/60674/1/luis-rubiales-controversy-2023-world-cup-spain-women-spanish-fa-president.
“Luis Rubiales: What to Know about the World Cup Kiss Scandal.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 31 Aug. 2023, www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/soccer-how-is-scandal-over-luis-rubiales-world-cup-kiss-playing-out-2023-08-31/.
Wamsley, Laurel. “Spain, Soccer and an Unwanted World Cup Kiss: The Luis Rubiales Firestorm, Explained.” NPR, NPR, 18 Sept. 2023, www.npr.org/2023/09/15/1199727359/luis-rubiales-spain-soccer-world-cup-controversy-explained. Ronald, Issy, et al. “Luis Rubiales Resigns as Spanish Soccer President Following Unwanted Kiss with World Cup Winner Jennifer Hermoso.” CNN, Cable News Network, 11 Sept. 2023, edition.cnn.com/2023/09/10/football/luis-rubiales-kiss-resign-football-intl-spt/index.html.