‘I will not quit!’ Spain’s football chief says he is victim of witch-hunt after kissing player

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – In a shocking speech on Friday, the president of Spain’s football federation refused to quit for kissing a female player while celebrating the World Cup victory.

Luis Rubiales was widely expected to step down during an emergency meeting of Spain’s football federation. Instead, he insisted he was the victim of the witch-hunt, gave lessons about “real feminism,” and vowed to take legal action against Spanish politicians for accusing him of misconduct.

Last Sunday marked a triumphant moment for Spain’s women’s football team as they won the World Cup for the first time. But the victory was soon mired in scandal after Rubiales grabbed the face of midfielder Jennifer Hermoso and planted a kiss on her lips during the celebrations.

In the locker room, Hermoso said she did not enjoy the kiss but could not avoided it. Through her union, she later released a statement condemning his behavior.

Rubiales, however, said that “the peck, not a kiss” was consensual. “She was the one who hugged me … that’s the truth,” he said, insisting that it had nothing to do with “desire or domination.”

Rubiales was also filmed grabbing his genitals as a means of celebrating the women’s victory. During the vulgar move, he was standing next to Queen Letizia of Spain and her 16-year-old daughter Infanta Sofia. He apologized for that on Friday.

He said he was looking at coach Jorge Vilda and made the gesture to honor the coach’s “balls” for winning. “We’ve gone through so much … they wanted to do the same to you as they did to me,” Rubiales said, referring to the last year’s attempt by the female players of team Spain to force Vilda to resign.

“We’ve suffered a lot. We’ve been through a lot,” Rubiales said, looking at Vilda, later saying he was giving him a raise to €500,000 a year and ensuring he would remain the coach of the women’s team for the next four years.

“Men were champions too, it wasn’t just women,” he said.

Rubiales also ranted against “false feminism” that does not seek the truth but instead tries to get him fired. He said he would take a legal action against Spanish ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz, for accusing him of inappropriate sexual behavior.

- Timeline of pressure on Rubiales

On Monday, facing mounting criticism from Spanish politicians and the media, Rubiales released a remorseful video. “We saw it as something natural, normal, and not in bad faith, but there are people who have been hurt by this, and I have to apologize. There’s no other way, is there?” he asked.

On Tuesday, Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the apology did not go far enough and that the scandal shows that Spain “still has a long way to go in terms of equality.”

Reports also emerged that Rubiales pressured Hermoso, the player he kissed, to appear at his side in the apology video.

The next day, Hermoso’s union Futpro released a statement in her name, saying it condemns “conduct that violates the dignity of women” and vowed to ensure such acts do not go unpunished. Amnesty International, Spanish politicians and women’s soccer league Liga F added to the pressure.

“One of the greatest achievements in the history of Spanish sport was tarnished by the shameful behavior of the highest representative of Spanish football,” said Liga F. “It is an unprecedented international embarrassment.”

On Thursday, not only did FIFA open disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales, but Spanish minister Felix Bolanos announced that the government would intervene if Rubiales retained his position as Spain’s football chief.

- Not his only scandal

Rubiales was elected president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation in 2018, and his crude celebrations were not the only controversy of his tenure.

In one of his first actions, he fired the head coach of Spain’s men’s team Julen Lopetegui the day before the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

In 2022, Spanish daily El Confidencial published leaked documents and audio files that included conversations between Rubiales and Gerard Pique – a former Barcelona player and Shakira’s ex-partner. The conversations suggested that the two agreed to split millions of euros to take Spain’s Supercopa tournament to Saudi Arabia.

That case is still under investigation, and he is also accused of other misconduct.

During his speech on Thursday, Rubiales said the “dozens” of complaints and allegations against him were all invented as part of the witch-hunt against him.

“They’re trying to kill me,” he said of so-called “false feminists” and the press, which he accused of being biased against him.