Luis Rubiales has not withstood the enormous pressure and criticism received in recent days and plans to resign tomorrow as president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), reports Marca. His decision comes after the controversial kiss on the mouth of Jenni Hermoso and her improper behavior in the box of authorities during the final of the women’s soccer World Cup.
The pressure on Rubiales had skyrocketed in the last few hours and it was already unbearable, even for the former Motril footballer, who turned 46 this Wednesday. The requests for resignation have not ceased since last Monday and have come from all areas, including the highest levels of Spanish politics and sport.
Everyone considered Rubiales’ apologies insufficient and inadmissible. The Prime Minister himself, Pedro Sánchez, asked him to “take more steps” and described his behavior as “unacceptable” after the reception ceremony for the world champions at the Moncloa Palace.
If confirmed tomorrow, Rubiales’ resignation ends a five-year period at the helm of the RFEF, a position he reached in 2018 and in 2020 he was re-elected for another four-year term. His stage as president of the RFEF, described as “impeccable” and “wonderful” by some territorial leaders, has been dotted with numerous scandals, including the alleged commissions collected and agreed with Gerard Piqué in 2019 for transferring the Super Cup from Spain to Arabia. Saudi.
A judge from Majadahonda is investigating the alleged irregularities committed by Luis Rubiales in the RFEF, including an alleged “party with 8 or 10 young girls” held in a luxurious chalet in Salobreña (Granada) that would have been paid for with money from the Federation. Or also a trip to New York with a woman allegedly paid for with Federation funds.
Luis Rubiales will also be remembered for his continuous disagreements and clashes with the president of the Professional Football League (LFP), Javier Tebas, and for firing the national coach, Julen Lopetegui, after Real Madrid announced the signing of the Gipuzkoan coach a few days before. Spain’s debut in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Since Sunday afternoon, shortly after the final between Spain and England, the images of Rubiales giving Jenni Hermoso a kiss on the mouth, numerous political representatives and sports organizations have called for the resignation or removal of the president. of the RFEF. The controversial kiss without consent was added to the embarrassment over other images of Rubiales clutching his genitals in the authorities’ box, a few meters from Queen Letizia and Infanta Sofía.
The first to publicly censure Rubiales’ behavior was the acting Minister of Culture and Sports, Miquel Iceta, who on Monday considered Rubiales’ attitude “unacceptable” in an interview on RNE and ordered him to give “explanations” and present his ” apologies”. The next day, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, described the apologies offered by Rubiales as “insufficient” and asked the president of the RFEF to take “more steps” to clarify behavior that he described as “unacceptable”.
From then on, other political and government representatives joined the reproaches and the first requests for resignation arose. The Association of Spanish Soccer Players (AFE), of which Rubiales was president between 2010 and 2018, issued a harsh statement demanding the application of the new Sports Law in the event that the RFEF president did not resign. “What happened to Jennifer Hermoso is especially serious when she found herself in a clear vulnerability before a person who has a position of power over her by initiating an approach or making a physical gesture,” said AFE.
One of the harshest statements was that of the Professional Women’s Soccer League (League F), which filed a complaint with the president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), Víctor Francos. “One of the greatest feats in the history of Spanish sport was sullied by the embarrassing behavior of the highest representative of Spanish football who, once again, and guided by his continuous and usual desire for leadership, proved not to be up to the task. that it holds”, said the note from League F.
“Celebrating the triumph in the box of authorities holding the genitals next to the Queen and the Infanta Sofía is inadmissible and disgusting. That a boss grabs his worker by the head and kisses her on the mouth, simply, cannot be tolerated. Publicly branding of ‘assholes, assholes and losers’ to those who reproach such attitudes is inadmissible and disgusting”, added the statement from League F, which called for the “disqualification” of Luis Rubiales as president of the RFEF. “Spain and Spanish football do not deserve a representative of this level,” the letter ended.
Jenni Hermoso herself, whom Rubiales tried to convince to appear in his apology video, demanded “exemplary measures” against the RFEF president. The soccer player, on vacation in Ibiza with several teammates, broke her silence through a statement from the Futpro union. “We express our firm and resounding condemnation of behaviors that violate the dignity of women. We ask the RFEF to implement the necessary protocols, ensure the rights of our players and adopt exemplary measures” against what Futpro considered acts of “harassment, sexual abuse, machismo and sexism”.
The pressure on de Rubiales increased even more this Thursday with FIFA’s announcement of the opening of disciplinary proceedings against the president of the RFEF. In addition, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee anticipated that Rubiales’ behavior, both the kiss to Jenni Hermoso and the obscene gestures in the box, “could constitute violations of articles 13.1 and 13.2 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.”
At the same time, the first breaches occurred within the RFEF and the Basque Football Federation (FVF-EFF) announced that, “given the seriousness of what happened and the subsequent management of events”, it will not attend the Assembly Extraordinary called by the RFEF for this Friday. The FVF-EFF added that, “in view of what happens in the coming days, a decision will be made on the continuity” of its president, Javier Landeta, “on the RFEF Board of Directors.”
The Gipuzkoan and Álava federations joined this statement from the FVF-EFF in identical terms. The latter also clarified that its president, Kepa Arrieta, will not attend the Extraordinary Assembly in his capacity as a member of the RFEF Board of Directors.
The presidents of several LaLiga EA Sports clubs (the Spanish First Division) such as Atlético de Madrid, Getafe, Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Deportivo Alavés also joined the resignation requests in the last few hours.
Finally, it has not been necessary for the Government to go to the Administrative Court of Sport (TAD), as Miquel Iceta had warned. “We expect a clear and unequivocal gesture of rejection of Rubiales, after an unacceptable performance by the president of the Federation. It is the great opportunity for Spanish football to show that it not only respects the rights of women, but that it is going to defend them in all its performances”, indicated the Minister of Culture and Sports in an interview with the ‘Ser’ channel. “In any case, the CSD is going to make its own decisions as of Monday,” he warned about the complaints that were going to be raised to the TAD if Rubiales had resisted resigning his position.