By Alyssa McMurtry
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – FIFA announced on Monday that it has banned the former president of Spain’s football association from all football-related activities at national and international levels for three years.
Luis Rubiales had already been temporarily suspended from football at a professional level after he kissed player Jennifer Hermoso on the lips during celebrations. Afterward, he refused to admit any wrongdoing despite her claims of feeling humiliated.
In Monday’s announcement, FIFA ruled that Rubiales breached Article 13 of the football association’s disciplinary code.
Article 13, titled offensive behavior and violations of the principles of fair play, includes behaviors like “insulting” people with offensive gestures or “behaving in a way that brings the sport of football and/or FIFA into disrepute.”
Besides kissing Hermoso on the lips after Spain’s women’s team won the World Cup in August, Rubiales also grabbed his crotch in an emphasized victory gesture while standing next to Spain’s queen and princess.
“FIFA reiterates its absolute commitment to respecting and protecting the integrity of all people and ensuring that the basic rules of decent conduct are upheld,” said Monday’s statement.
This may not be the final blow to Rubiales, who also resigned from his post as head of Spain’s football federation after the pressure became too much.
He is also facing criminal charges in Spain for sexual assault and coercion for pressuring Hermoso to publicly say that she agreed to the kiss.
But Hermoso refused to go along with his alleged attempts to pressure her and instead said she felt “victimized” and disrespected by Rubiales’ actions.
Rubiales also triggered a wave of public backlash for his tirade against feminists and claims that he was the ultimate victim of the kiss scandal.
The headline-grabbing events set off a revolution in Spain’s women’s football. The national team leveraged the situation to change their conditions, coach and other leaders, who they said even before the Rubiales case, treated them with disrespect.
“For decades there has been systemic discrimination against women’s football. We had to fight a lot to be heard,” player Alexia Putellas told Spanish media, explaining how the Hermoso kiss was the “straw that broke the camel’s back.”