(Madrid) Spanish soccer boss Luis Rubiales, who sparked outrage by forcibly kissing world champion Jenni Hermoso, now faces sanctions from authorities in his country after being suspended by FIFA.
Seized by the Spanish government, the Administrative Court of Sports (TAD) met at 1 p.m. (7 a.m. Eastern time) to rule on the executive’s complaint against Rubiales, we learned from of this instance.
If it opens a procedure, the Higher Sports Council (CSD), a government body, may then suspend the president of the federation (RFEF) until the case is judged on the merits.
The president of the CSD, Victor Francos, must speak to the press from 6:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. Eastern time) to reveal the measures that his body intends to take against Rubiales. The 46-year-old was suspended by FIFA on Saturday “from all football-related activity at national and international level” for 90 days.
The case, already dubbed the “
Several men’s and women’s soccer teams across the country displayed banners or T-shirts with the inscription
The convictions have gone beyond the world of football, with Spanish basketball legend Pau Gasol, and sports with Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman.
In a country considered very advanced in terms of women’s rights, the government of socialist Pedro Sanchez is particularly virulent against Luis Rubiales.
“Faced with a kiss without consent”, considered in the Spanish Penal Code as a sexual assault, “the government has an obligation to act”, estimated Monday the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, on the radio Cadena Ser .
“It is very important that Rubiales does not stay on the job,” she added, referring to “millions of other unwanted kisses, unwanted touching at work that unfortunately go unpunished. »
The government’s number three, Yolanda Diaz, announced the filing of another complaint before the CSD to demand that the federation respect the law on gender parity in its management bodies, which is a “key against structural machismo “.
Minutes after La Roja won the World Cup final against England on August 20, Rubiales threw Spanish football into chaos by kissing Jenni Hermoso on the mouth at the medal ceremony in Sydney .
Her unexpected refusal to step down on Friday despite intense pressure was shocking, as was her violent rhetoric against supposed “false feminism.”
The former defender insists that this kiss was “consensual”. “She was the one who picked me up and hugged me. […] I asked her “a little smack” and she said “okay”, “he said.
A version categorically denied by the world champion who said she felt “vulnerable and the victim of an aggression, an impulsive and sexist act, inappropriate and without any consent on my part”.
Denouncing the “harassment” of which Luis Rubiales would be the victim, his mother began a hunger strike in a church in Motril, Vanessa Ruiz Bejar, a cousin of the president of the federation, told the press.
In the midst of the bid process for the organization of the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Morocco, the RFEF convened an extraordinary meeting of the presidents of the regional federations on Monday, a source close to AFP confirmed. According to several media, this meeting must begin at 4 p.m. (10 a.m. Eastern time).
The body is under pressure as the 23 players of La Roja refuse to play under the current management and six members of the management of the women’s selection resigned on Saturday.
The president of the Women’s Professional Football League, Beatriz Alvarez, on Monday called on all the leaders of the federation who applauded Luis Rubiales’ speech on Friday to resign.