Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has been provisionally suspended from all football-related activities at the national and international level for 90 days by FIFA following a refusal to resign on Friday.
Rubiales caused an uproar after kissing Spanish national team forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent during the awards ceremony following Spain’s 1-0 victory over England on Sunday in Sydney, Australia.
The president of the Spanish soccer federation Luis Rubiales speaks during an emergency general assembly meeting in Las Rozas, Friday Aug. 25, 2023. Rubiales has refused to resign despite an uproar for kissing a player, Jennifer Hermoso on the lips without her consent after the Women’s World Cup final. (Real Federación Española de Fútbol/Europa Press via AP)
In a defiant speech on Friday in front of the emergency general assembly of the federation, Rubiales refused to resign despite local reports that he planned to step down.
SPAIN’S JENNI HERMOSO SAYS SHE ‘FELT VULNERABLE’ WHEN LUIS RUBIALES PERFORMED ‘NON-CONSENSUAL’ KISS
“The chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, Jorge Ivan Palacio (Colombia), in use of the powers granted by article 51 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), has decided today to provisionally suspend Mr. Luis Rubiales from all football-related activities at national and international level,” FIFA said in a media release on Saturday. “This suspension, which will be effective as of today, is for an initial period of 90 days, pending the disciplinary proceedings opened against Mr. Luis Rubiales on Thursday, August 24.
Rubiales was also ordered to “refrain, through himself or third parties, from contacting or attempting to contact the professional player of the Spanish national football team Ms. Jennifer Hermoso or her close environment.”
“Likewise, the RFEF [Spanish soccer federation] and its officials or employees, directly or through third parties, are ordered to refrain from contacting the professional player of the Spanish national team Ms. Jennifer Hermoso and her close environment,” FIFA’s release continued.
The president of the Spanish soccer federation Luis Rubiales speaks during an emergency general assembly meeting in Las Rozas, Friday, August 25, 2023. Rubiales has refused to resign despite an uproar for kissing a player, Jennifer Hermoso on the lips without her consent after the Women’s World Cup final. Rubiales had also grabbed his crotch in a lewd victory gesture from the section of dignitaries with Spain’s Queen Letizia and the 16-year-old Princess Sofía nearby. (Real Federación Española de Fútbol/Europa Press via AP)
On Friday, Rubiales called the kiss “consensual” while repeatedly stating he would not resign.
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“My desire in that moment was exactly the same as if I’d have been kissing one of my daughters,” he said, per ESPN. “No more or less. Everybody understands that. It was a spontaneous kiss, mutual, euphoric and consensual. That’s the key.
“[Hermoso] had missed a penalty. I have a great relationship with all the players. . . . In the moment that Jenni arrived, she lifted me up off the ground. We almost fell over. We hugged. I said, ‘Forget about the penalty, you’ve been fantastic, we wouldn’t have won the World Cup without you.’ She said: ‘You’re great.’ I said, ‘A kiss?’ and she said: ‘Yes.’
“From ‘no big deal’ and all that, then the pressure starts, the silence of the player and a statement [from Hermoso] that I don’t understand. Justice isn’t being done here. This is a social assassination of me, they’re trying to kill me.”
Spain’s Jennifer Hermoso reacts after missing a scoring chance during the Women’s World Cup Group C soccer match between Japan and Spain in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, July 31, 2023. (AP Photo/John Cowpland, File)
Later on Friday, Hermoso issued a statement through her players’ union, saying, “in no moment did I consent to the kiss that he gave me, and in no moment did I try to pick up the president.”
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Hermoso also said the kiss put her in a vulnerable position.
“I want to reiterate that I did not like what happened,” the statement added. “I felt vulnerable and a victim of an implusive-driven, sexist, out-of-place act without any consent on my part.”
Rubiales was also seen grabbing his crotch in celebration as Spain won the Women’s World Cup, and offered an apology on Friday for his actions in a “moment of euphoria.”
Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
