Spanish football has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons since the country’s women’s team lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy earlier this month. The controversy ensued after Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF), kissed forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy presentation in Sydney.
The matter has now entered Spain’s top criminal court, which might constitute Rubiales’ actions as a crime of “sexual assault,” according to news agency AFP. Just hours before the top court could launch the preliminary investigation, Rubiales’ mother Angeles Bejar reportedly shut herself inside a church and went on a hunger strike to protest the alleged persecution of her son.
Speaking to the Spanish news agency EFE, Bejar said that she would lock herself in a church in the southern Spanish town of Motril and would not eat anything until her son got justice. She believes Rubiales is getting “inhuman and bloody” treatment but “he is not capable of hurting anyone.” “Why are they all being so cruel to him?” Bejar asked.
Luis Rubiales has left no stone unturned to prove his innocence. After the incident in Sydney, he was immediately asked to resign from his position. The 46-year-old refused to do so. Rather, he labelled himself as a victim of a “witch-hunt” by “false feminists.” During a meeting some days back, Rubiales said “I will not resign,” five times into the microphone.
On the same day, players of the Spanish women’s team decided not to take part in a single game until Rubiales was ousted from his role.
Several men’s players also came forward in support of their women counterparts. The protest made the football governing body, FIFA, suspend Rubiales for three months until the investigation gets its final outcome. Vice-president of the Spanish Soccer Association Pedro Rocha has taken over the leadership role as an interim chief.
Jenni Hermoso thinks the World Cup final incident “is just the straw that broke the camel’s back and one that everyone has been able to see.” Passing a blunt verdict, the 33-year-old said, “Attitudes like this have been part of the national team’s daily life for years.”
This is not the first time that prominent personalities in Spanish football have garnered criticism. Fifteen players of the women’s team left the squad in September last year after raising questions about the culture of the Spanish team under coach Jorge Vilda.