Scandal of the President of the Spanish Football Association

In the new kiss scandal that shook Spain, the mother of Luis Rubiales, the suspended president of the Spanish Football Federation, staged a sit-in in a church and began a hunger strike, in protest against the way her son was treated. The mother of Rubiales, 46 years old, locked herself in a church in the city of... Motril, from Andalusia in southern Spain, protested against what she described as an “inhuman and bloody” campaign against her son, according to what the state television channel RTFE and other Spanish media reported on Monday. Information also reported that the grieving mother will continue the hunger strike “day and night” until “justice is achieved.” On Saturday, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) imposed a temporary 90-day suspension on Rubiales after he was accused of kissing player Jenny Hermoso on the lips without mutual consent between the two parties, during the coronation ceremony of the Spanish national team with the 2023 Women’s World Cup title, which concluded a few days ago. Spain won the Women's World Cup for the first time in its history after defeating England 1-0 in the final match on August 20, but the sharp criticism raised by the "Rubiales Kiss" cast a shadow over the achievement. Since Hermoso initially said that she did not like it, then the Spanish Federation published a statement that included her statements, in which she downplayed the matter. The player then denied that the kiss was consensual, and the wave of sharp criticism against Rubiales continued. As for Rubiales, he initially mocked the controversy surrounding the kiss. But he later apologized, then changed his position again during an emergency meeting of the Spanish Federation held last Friday. It was expected before the meeting that he would announce his resignation from the position of President of the Spanish Federation, but he went against expectations and defended himself, saying that “false feminism” had led to his “social assassination.” It is noteworthy that the Spanish Federation is scheduled to hold another emergency meeting on Monday, and the Spanish sports judiciary is also expected to begin discussing his future.

On Sunday, Spanish football legend Andres Iniesta joined the many voices denouncing the president of the Spanish Federation, Luis Rubiales, and considered that the latter’s kiss with Jenny Hermoso after the Women’s World Cup final “harmed the image” of Spanish football. Iniesta wrote on social networks: After what happened this week, I would like to convey my sadness as a person, as a father of three daughters, as a husband and as a football player for what happened around our football and around the Spanish women’s national team. The scorer of the goal against the Netherlands in the 2010 final, which gave Spain its first World Cup title, added: I think we cannot tolerate actions like those we saw, which tarnished a great achievement like winning the World Cup. Hermoso revealed that at "no time" did she agree to a kiss on the lips after the 1-0 final win over England in Sydney, which Rubiales described as "mutual, joyful and consensual." After Rubiales refused to resign on Friday despite the sharp and unprecedented criticism of his behavior, Hermoso joined 80 players, including all the players from the national team that won the world title for the first time in its history, who refused to play again with “La Roja” if the federation’s current leadership remained. The majority of the technical staff of the women's national team also submitted their resignations. Iniesta continued: I cannot imagine the feeling that all the national team players feel now when they are not talking about the wonderful tournament they played and the wonderful football they taught us all. Instead, we had to endure a president who was clinging to his position, and did not acknowledge that his behavior was unacceptable. It harms the image of our country and football around the world.