President Of Spanish Football Federation Won’t Quit Amid Pressure To Resign

The President of the Spanish Football Federation will not quit, amid pressure for him to resign. The Spanish government has started legal proceedings against Rubiales, seeking to suspend him. This was all precipitated by events at the Women’s World Cup final, which Spain won.

At the end of the match, Mr Rubiales grabbed a particular region of himself that many consider to be inappropriate. That he did so in the presence of the Spanish Queen and her 16 year old daughter enraged many. He claimed that he did this in the direction of under fire Spanish coach Jorge Vilda. But that doesn’t really make what he did any more acceptable.

But the most controversial thing Mr Rubiales did was when he gave Spain player Jenni Hermoso what looked like an unsolicited kiss on the lips. We add the ‘what looked like’ qualifier, because Rubiales claims that the kiss was consensual, but Ms Hermoso indicates that it wasn’t.

On Friday, Rubiales said: “Do you think this [incident] is so serious that I should go, after the best management in the history of Spanish football? Let me tell you: I’m not going to resign. I’m not going to resign. I’m not going to resign. I’ve come under a lot of pressure. Perhaps somebody will look to remove me on Monday. But we live in a country of laws. Is a consensual kiss enough to remove me? I’m going to fight until the end. I hope the law is followed, and that as there’s no reason to [remove me], it won’t happen.”

Rubiales further claimed that before kissing Hermoso, he asked her if it was ok and she said yes. Said Rubiales: “I’m telling the truth. False feminism doesn’t look for justice or truth, it doesn’t care about people. … [Various politicians] have used terms like sexual violence, assault. What will women who have been sexually assaulted think of that? These people are trying to assassinate me and I’m going to defend myself. The false feminists destroy people.”

Following the speech, several Spanish male players expressed their discontent. This included David De Gea and Iker Casillas. Real Betis player Borja Iglesias said that he would not play for Spain until Rubiales resigned. For their part, all 23 players of Spain’s Women’s World Cup winning team have said they will not play for Spain again as long as Rubiales remains in charge.

Jenni Hermoso also disputed Rubiales’ claim that the kiss was consensual. Balon d Or winner and member of the Spanish national team Alexia Putellas has called the situation “unacceptable.” The acting Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, has also weighed in, calling Rubiales’ initial apology “insufficient.”

For now, the President of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, won’t quit, amid pressure to resign. The players have now said they will not play until he does. We will see what happens in the coming days.