Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales apologises for kissing Women’s World Cup Winner
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Luis Rubiales enveloped Jennifer Hermoso in his arms and planted a kiss full on her mouth during the Women's World Cup medal ceremony.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MADRID – A day after drawing outrage by grabbing and forcefully kissing forward Jennifer Hermoso
“I have to apologise,” he said in a video broadcast by the federation on Monday afternoon. “Probably I made a mistake.”
But his apology has been deemed “insufficient” by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
When asked about the controversy over the unsolicited kiss at a news conference on Tuesday, Sanchez said: “What we saw was an unacceptable gesture... and the apology he made is insufficient.”
The kiss was delivered in Sydney, only a few feet from where Spanish Queen Letizia was standing onstage as she congratulated the women’s team for beating England 1-0 to capture their first World Cup trophy on Sunday.
Video footage shows Rubiales enveloping Hermoso in his arms, grabbing her face between his hands and planting a kiss full on her lips.
Spaniards reacted with confusion and disgust on social media. Many saw it as evidence of a callous disregard for Hermoso and lingering sexism in football.
The episode is the latest in a string of incidents that have plagued the women’s national team in recent months. Last year, 15 players walked out in protest, accusing the coach, Jorge Vilda, of outdated training methods and controlling behaviour.
Rubiales had brushed off his critics as “losers” in a late-night interview with the Cadena Cope radio station before boarding a flight back from Australia.
“We shouldn’t pay attention to idiots and stupid people,” he said then, claiming that the kiss had been just a “peck between two friends celebrating something”.
But by the time his long-haul flight landed in Spain on Monday morning, condemnation of his behaviour was widespread.
Adding his voice to the chorus of complaints, the Minister of Culture and Sport, Miquel Iceta, called for an explanation from the football chief, pointing out that it was unacceptable to congratulate players by kissing them on the lips.
“I think it is unacceptable to kiss a player on the lips to congratulate her,” he told Spanish public radio.
Other prominent politicians demanded Rubiales’ resignation. The Equality Minister, Irene Montero, accused Rubiales on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, of sexual violence.
A non-consensual kiss is “a kind of sex violence all women suffer daily, which was until now invisible and which we cannot normalise”, she said.
Acting Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz called for Rubiales’ resignation because “without any doubt (he) attacked a woman”.
Rubiales then changed his tune. “There was no bad intention by either party,” he said on Monday.
“We saw it as natural,” he added, apparently referring to Hermoso, insisting that he had a “magnificent relationship” with the striker. “But it has caused a commotion and people are offended, so I must apologise.”
As for Hermoso, she seemed to have been taken by surprise by the kiss and expressed her distaste in a post-match video, saying: “Hey, but I didn’t like that!”
Later, she appeared to downplay the episode.
“It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the huge joy of winning a World Cup,” she said. NYTIMES, REUTERS, AFP
