FIFA announced on Saturday the temporary suspension of Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Federation, who is accused of forcibly kissing Spanish captain Jenni Hermoso after the Women’s World Cup final won by Spain.
The disciplinary committee of the International Football Federation (FIFA) announced on Saturday, August 26, that it has provisionally suspended the president of the Spanish Federation, Luis Rubiales, at the center of a scandal after forcibly kissing the captain of the world champions on the mouth.
After offering belated apologies, Luis Rubiales defiantly refused to resign on Friday during a general assembly of the Spanish Federation (RFEF), exacerbating the crisis shaking Spanish football.
“The president of the disciplinary committee has decided today [Saturday] to provisionally suspend Mr. Luis Rubiales from all football-related activities at the national and international level,” FIFA said in a statement.
The duration of this suspension is 90 days, pending a decision on the merits, the International Federation said, adding that it has informed the interested party and UEFA, of which Luis Rubiales is vice-president.
Defiant statement
While the 23 world champion players expressed their support for their captain by announcing that they would not play for the national team under the current leadership, the RFEF counterattacked by accusing Jenni Hermoso of lying when she claimed that Luis Rubiales had kissed her without her consent.
In a statement released late Friday night, the RFEF threatened the 33-year-old player, who claimed to be a “victim of sexual assault,” with legal action to “defend the honor” of its president.
The case has caused a huge scandal in Spain, where the government, the main sponsors of the women’s national team, as well as former internationals like goalkeeper Iker Casillas, have expressed their outrage at Luis Rubiales’ refusal to resign and his speech condemning “fake feminists” who are trying to “assassinate” him socially.
In addition to the stolen kiss, Luis Rubiales was filmed grabbing his genitals during the final against England (1-0) on Sunday in Australia.
After four days of awkward silence, FIFA took up the case on Thursday by announcing the opening of disciplinary proceedings against the head of the RFEF.
With Reuters