The president of the country’s football association has been making waves in Spain in recent days Luis Rubiales. The behavior of the soccer boss who kissed the player of the women’s national team has been described as shameful and inappropriate.
The Spanish media Marca reported on Thursday that Rubiales will resign on Friday at the meeting of the football association.
On Friday, Rubiales took the stage and announced that he would not resign. Rubiales gave a speech at the meeting in which he declared that he would continue to be a happy and well-rounded man. He accused the media and his critics of being chased.
– The kiss was consensual. I know I was wrong, but who are you to persecute me. I don’t quit, I don’t quit, I don’t quit, I don’t quit!
The declaration received resounding applause at the union meeting.
Watch an excerpt of Rubiales’ speech below or from this link.
At the award ceremony of the World Cup that ended on Sunday, Rubiales kissed the attacker on the mouth Jennifer Hermosoa. Rubiales’ first reaction to the commotion was invited people who criticized him as “fools and idiots”.
– It was more of a hug than a kiss. The passion in that kiss was on the same level as with my own daughters. There was nothing sexual about it. The kiss was spontaneous and consensual, Rubiales said in his speech on Friday.
Now even the Spanish leadership is demanding Rubiales’ resignation. On Friday, the prosecutor’s office filed a lawsuit against Rubiales for sexual harassment.
– The Prosecutor’s Office and the CDS (Spanish Sports Council) work to protect the player, oppose macho culture and guarantee the right to sexual freedom. More than ever, Jenni Hermoso, you are not alone, Spanish Minister for Equality Irene Montero write in social media.
Also Spanish Minister of Labor and Economy Yolanda Diaz and the chairman of FifPro, the umbrella organization of international players’ associations David Aganzo calling for Rubiales’ resignation.
In addition to them, many others have also been dismayed by Rubiales’ heartfelt speech. For example, the long-term goalkeepers of the Spanish men’s national team Iker Casillas and David De Gea commenting on events.
– We should have spent these five days talking about our girls. For all the joy they gave us. Glowing with a title we had not previously achieved in women’s football, but… Casillas write.
– My ears are bleeding, De Gea described the speech in social media.
There are several top Spanish players demanding a resignation, such as Hector Bellerin and Borja Inglesias.
President of Liga F, the Spanish women’s premier league Beatriz Alvarez told on Thursday that Rubiales does not value women and their role in football.
– The Luis Rubiales that the world sees now is the Luis Rubiales that the football world has had to endure, Alvarez describes.
Socially significant
On the day of the final, Hermoso said on social media that she didn’t like the kiss. After that, he described what happened to journalists as a “natural gesture”. Wednesday Hermoso issued a statement together with the Spanish Women’s Football Association. The statement condemns Rubiales’ actions.
Urheilu’s football expert Hanna Ruohomaa wonders if Hermoso was pressured to say the kiss was an appropriate gesture.
– I think the fact that you even have to think about it makes this even more terrible than before.
Ruohomaa says that what happened can be compared to a great achievement in working life, which is celebrated together.
– Everyone can think that if the supervisor suddenly grabbed your face and kissed you in the workplace.
In Spain, a strong macho culture still prevails, and the position of women is not as good as, for example, in the Nordic countries. Now the country’s parliament demands that Rubiales will not get away without punishment – the macho culture must be addressed.
Ruohomaa states that the case can be a really big deal socially, when Hermoso also publicly opposes Rubiales.
– It must be difficult when dealing with such a matter in public. But her act is significant for all female athletes and women both in Spain and around the world.
Ruohomaa is outraged that Rubiales did not resign, but even received applause at the union meeting.
– There shouldn’t have been any other option but for him to resign. Sexual harassment and violating another’s physical integrity are crimes, says Ruohomaa.
Among the national team mates who have shown their support for Hermoso are, among others, the world’s best awarded Alexia Putellas and awarded as the best player of the World Cup Fence Bonmati.
– There are limits that cannot be crossed, and we will not tolerate it. We’ve got your back, buddy, Bonmati write.
Euphoric gestures
During the World Cup final, Rubiales celebrated Spain’s 1–0 lead by grabbing his crotch. According to him, the gesture was addressed to the head coach For Jorge Vilda.
– I apologize for what happened in the stands, when in a moment of euphoria I grabbed that part of my body. I was looking at Jorge Vilda then. Jorge, we’ve been through a lot together. They wanted to do to you the same as they are doing to me now. We have suffered a lot, endured a lot but stayed together, Rubiales said in his speech on Friday.
Last year, 15 players announced that they would quit the team if head coach Vilda continues in his position. The team said they were unhappy with the atmosphere. Vilda worked as the head coach of the girls’ national teams in 2010–15.
In 2015, he was chosen as the head coach of the women’s national team. Some of the players have felt that Vilda treats them like children. For example the Athletic saysthat until 2019 the players were not allowed to lock their room doors on national team trips before Vilda came to check that everything was in order.
Vilda celebrating the lead goal in the World Cup final seems to squeeze his coaching colleagues Montserrat Toméa chest. This has also been critically examined in the media around the world.
If Rubiales has to leave his washroom, his friend Vilda may face a stronger storm than before.
Sources: Cope, Dario AS, El Confidential, FutPro, Independent, The Athletic.