Luis Rubiales: The Spanish Football Federation is threatening legal action against women’s world champion Jennifer Hermoso

CNN
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The Spanish Football Federation has threatened legal action against one of the country’s star players, Jennifer Hermoso, accusing her of lying after she was kissed by FA president Luis Rubiales.

Hermoso said on Friday that she never agreed to a kiss from the country’s football boss – at last Sunday’s medal ceremony after Spain won the Women’s World Cup – writing on social media: “I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse .” Driven, sexist, out of place action without my consent.”

In a statement Friday to Hermoso and the Spanish Professional Football Association (FUTPRO), the federation defended Rubiales, who described the kiss as “mutual” and spoke of “unjust” campaigns and “false feminism”.

“The evidence is conclusive. “The president didn’t lie,” the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said, describing photos attempting to support Rubiales’ claim.

“The RFEF and the President will point out any lie that is spread either by someone on behalf of the player or, where appropriate, by the player himself.

“The RFEF and the President will take appropriate legal action given the seriousness of the content of the Futpro Union press release,” the statement said.

The federation went on to explain that players have “the duty” to attend matches “when asked to do so”, after all 23 are members of Spain’s World Cup squad, including Hermoso and nearly 50 other professional soccer players, said they would not play for the country again until Rubiales is removed from his position.

On Saturday, the association intensified its allegations of having lied to Hermoso. In a now-deleted statement, the RFEF said, “We must determine that Ms. Jennifer Hermoso lies in every statement she makes against the President,” and again threatened legal action. It is unclear why the RFEF decided to remove the statement from its website.

On Saturday, world football’s governing body FIFA temporarily suspended Rubiales from “all football-related activities” after announcing on Thursday that it had initiated disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales over possible violations of the game’s “basic rules of good conduct”.

Following Spain’s win over England in the Women’s World Cup final, Rubiales was filmed kissing Hermoso on the lips after accepting her winners’ medal, an act she “didn’t like”, the 33-year-old said later in the day said “Didn’t expect.”

Rubiales, who said on Monday he had “made a mistake”, was heavily criticized throughout the week, from the football world and some Spanish politicians, including Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who apologized for what he described as a “mistake”. . “unacceptable gesture” is “not enough”.

But the scandal escalated further on Friday when Rubiales made a defiant speech at the federation’s extraordinary general assembly, in which he firmly stated he would not be stepping down.

In response to Rubiales’ speech, Hermoso said that the RFEF President’s explanation of the incident was “categorically” false, adding, “I would like to emphasize, as before, that I did not like this incident.”

She also described declining calls for a statement to “relieve pressure on Rubiales” and said she was “continuously under pressure to make a statement that could justify Mr. Luis Rubiales’ actions”.

“Moreover, in different ways and through different people, the REF pressured those around me (family, friends, teammates, etc.) to make a statement that had little or nothing to do with my feelings,” she added.

In a statement published on players union site FUTPRO and on site.”

“No woman should feel compelled to answer questions based on the blunt images seen by the whole world, and of course no one should engage in hiring without consent,” the statement said.

“It fills us with sadness that such an unacceptable act undoes the greatest sporting achievement in the history of Spanish women’s football.”

Following Rubiales’ comments on Friday, Spain’s Supreme Council for Sport (CSD) President Víctor Francos said the council would try to suspend Rubiales as soon as possible while following due process.

The CSD is an autonomous decision-making body of the Spanish government’s Ministry of Culture and Sport and potentially has the power to demand Rubiales’ removal. However, to do so, the agency must follow a number of necessary steps, including filing a complaint against him and hearing the case in a court of law.

Some members of the Spanish football community were particularly critical of Rubiales’ speech, with Hermoso’s international teammate and two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas calling it “unacceptable”.

Spain international striker Borja Iglesias said on social media he will not play for the national team “until things change”, while Spain’s acting second deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz called for Rubiales to step down.