The now ex-president of the Spanish Football Federation ended up resigning, after 21 days of a controversy which overshadowed the feat of his players.
From the victory of the Spaniards in the final of the World Cup, on August 20, against England, we should have remembered the victorious goal of Olga Carmona, the scenes of joy in the locker rooms and the parade on a double-decker bus, in the streets of Madrid, in front of a large crowd, two days later. These scenes have been erased from the collective memory by the fault of a single man. During the presentation of the trophy and medals, a few meters from Queen Letizia of Spain and in front of the cameras of the whole world, the president of the Spanish federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, forcibly kissed the playmaker Jennifer Hermoso. After many twists and turns, this sexual assault, for which a preliminary investigation was opened in Spain, finally led him to resign on Sunday, September 10, after three weeks of endless controversy.
This global scandal particularly shocked the Spanish world champions of 2010. No leader came to spoil their party after their success against the Netherlands in the epilogue of the South African World Cup. “It’s excruciatingly embarrassing. We should have spent the last few days talking about how much joy the team has given us, how proud they have made us.”sighs the goalkeeper and captain of the time, Iker Casillas, who spoke on X (ex-Twitter). Xavi, the brain of the team, now coach of FC Barcelona, strongly condemned the gesture of Luis Rubiales while providing his support “unconditional” to the players, during a press conference: “I’m sad to see that the fact that the players are world champions, a historic moment, is not highlighted.” The scorer of the final, Andrés Iniesta, went one better on social networks. “It’s a shame that such a great story, built by so many players over the years, has been sullied.”
The feat of the Roja players is all the greater as they went for this world title against all odds. Prominent among the obstacles is the inertia of a federation which left a toxic coach, Ignacio Quereda, in office for 27 years, before clinging to another, Jorge Vilda, who had pushed a good dozen internationals to slam the door a year before the World Cup. Furious against these players, Luis Rubiales had ordered them to “ask forgiveness” and “acknowledge their mistake” if they wanted to be reinstated, as the newspaper then reported Marca.
Elected on a promise of integrity and “values”
However, Luis Rubiales carried a speech of integrity when he came to power in May 2018, after 28 years of reign of his predecessor, Angel Maria Villar, caught up by justice. “We want rigour, values, transparencyhe declared at the time of his arrival in charge, as recalled by the Spanish newspaper El Confidential. We can make mistakes, but there are certain matters where we must be infallible.”
Five years later, the speech turned out to be quite different. While the forced kiss scandal immediately gained momentum, Luis Rubiales immediately counterattacked, speaking of a “smooch between two friends” and railing on Cope radio, dealing with “assholes” and of “assholes” those who criticized him or accused him of spoiling the party.
A video of timid contrition, posted the day after the victory on the federation’s channels, did nothing to calm the anger. Although abandoned by all sides, from the government to the opposition, including players from Spanish clubs, the 46-year-old leader refused to give in. In this situation, the 23 world champions resigned themselves to announcing their departure from the selection, while around ten members of the staff resigned.
The RFEF went all out, unearthing a video taken from the stands supposed to put the gesture in context, while we clearly see Luis Rubiales throwing himself at Jennifer Hermoso, who has no other choice but to throw him take in his arms. In a press release, the federation described “lie” the statements of the player, who constantly said that the kiss was not consensual, which constitutes sexual assault according to Spanish law. In letter published on XJennifer Hermoso also claimed on August 25 to have been the victim of “permanent pressure to make a statement that could justify the actions of Mr. Luis Rubiales”.
Luis Rubiales was finally “swept out”
The same day, the leader delivered a lunar speech before a federal assembly committed to his cause (and almost 100% male). While the press buzzed with rumors of departure, Luis Rubiales repeated several times: “I will not resign.” He claimed to be the victim of a cabal caused by a “false feminism, which is a plague for the country” and which makes him live a “social assassination”. His speech earned him a standing ovation from the audience, which included the coach of the world champions, Jorge Vilda, and his men’s counterpart, Luis de la Fuente. The two men then issued a timid statement, distancing themselves. The damage was done.
During the football weekend that followed, the men’s championship and friendly matches of the women’s teams were dotted with gestures, banners and slogans in support of Jennifer Hermoso. On August 26, Fifa finally suspended the person concerned from his functions for three months. “In six days, feminism swept away Rubiales”then believed on the social networkEl País Isabel Valdes. “In six days, #SeAcabo (“it’s over”) replaced the kiss Hermoso never agreed to.”
The hashtag #SeAcabo had been launched a few days earlier. It was worn in particular by the world champion goalkeeper, Misa Rodriguez.
In the end, it still took more than six days. It was only on August 28, more than a week after the start of the scandal, that the federation demanded the resignation of Luis Rubiales. On September 6, Jennifer Hermoso ended up filing a complaint to speed things up. And on the 10th Luis Rubiales ended up leaving, not without presenting himself as a victim in the interview with English journalist Piers Morgan where he announced his decision: “My loved ones told me, Luis, you must focus on your dignity, and continue to live your life. (…) I will defend my honor, I will defend my innocence, I have faith in the future, I I have faith in the truth.” In his letter of resignationhe denounces a “disproportionate campaign” against him.
If, as Jennifer Hermoso pointed out on August 25, “the opportunity to celebrate” World Cup victory “was cut short” because of Luis Rubiales, others still want to see the positive in it. Misa Rodriguez added to his post on X a drawing representing a child asking her grandmother:
– Grandma, tell me how you won the World Cup?
– We didn’t just win a World Cup, kid, we won much more.