Spanish soccer president Luis Rubiales Béjar was suspended by FIFA on Saturday after he kissed a player at the World Cup.
Spain took the World Cup in a 1-0 win against England less than a week ago. Rubiales handed out the gold medals in a long line of people and congratulated the players individually. While he hugged every player and planted kisses on the cheeks of some players, he kissed forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips.
SPACEX LAUNCHES FIRST FULLY INTERNATIONAL CREW TO ISS
🚨🇪🇸 Spanish football chief under fire after giving World Cup winner Jennifer Hermoso a kiss on the lips during the presentation! pic.twitter.com/gzxYkgUj5G
— Terror Alarm (@Terror_Alarm) August 21, 2023
FIFA announced Friday it had opened an investigation into Rubiales after Hermoso put out a statement five days after the kiss, clarifying that it was not consensual. The Spanish Federation of Soccer was subsequently informed that FIFA had suspended the president.
“I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out-of-place act without any consent on my part,” Hermoso wrote in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Simply put, I was not respected.”
As a result, the entire women’s team has refused to play another match until Rubiales is removed as president. Rubiales has made it clear he has no intention to resign. He continues to claim the kiss was consensual. Instead, Rubiales intends to “legally defend himself,” and he fully trusts FIFA, according to the federation’s website.
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Meanwhile, Pedro Rocha Junco will be the interim president until Rubiales’s suspension ends in 90 days.
This was the Spanish women’s team’s third time competing in the World Cup finals, but first time winning. Spain and Germany are the only countries to have both their men’s and women’s team win their respective cups.
