Football’s governing body, FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Luis Rubiales after he kissed Spain star Jenni Hermoso during the trophy ceremony at the Women’s World Cup final last Sunday.
HeraldNG recalls that the incident happened after Spain beat England 1-0 in Sydney thanks to a first-half goal from Olga Carmona.
In the medal presentation, Luis Rubiales, the Spanish Football Federation president grabbed the head of Jenni, who plays for Pachuca in Mexico, before forcibly kissing her on the lips.
In an update on Thursday, the FIFA disciplinary committee informed Luis Rubiales that it is opening disciplinary proceedings against him based on the events that occurred during the final.
FIFA said the incident “may constitute violations of article 13 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the FIFA disciplinary code”.
FIFA charges Rubiales over kissing player on lips following women’s World Cup final. pic.twitter.com/JgUJDsd5Q9
— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) August 24, 2023
Recall on Wednesday, Spain star Hermoso released a joint statement with union Futpro who called for action to be taken against the RFEF president.
“We are working to ensure that acts such as those we have seen never go unpunished, that they are sanctioned and that the exemplary measures are adopted to protect women footballers from actions that we believe are unacceptable,” the statement said.
– ‘Not Behaviour Of President’ –
Earlier Thursday, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti criticised Luis Rubiales for his conduct.
“It’s a very delicate topic, like most people, it was behaviour that I obviously did not like,” Ancelotti told a news conference.
“It was not the behaviour of a president of the federation.”
The Italian coach would not be further drawn on the issue.
“I don’t know if he should resign or not, I think he will take the most adequate decision,” added Ancelotti.
Real Madrid plays Celta Vigo in La Liga on Friday, and the Galicians’ manager Rafa Benitez also spoke about Luis Rubiales.
“The success of the national team is the news, and unfortunately, it’s been relegated to the background,” said Benitez.
“We all agree we have seen behaviour which was not correct and the competent authorities are there to make decisions.”
Getafe president Angel Torres criticised Luis Rubiales on Wednesday and said the president could not spend “one minute more” in his post.
American forward Megan Rapinoe, the world’s highest-profile women’s player, was similarly scathing in an interview with The Atlantic earlier this week.
“What kind of upside-down world are we in? On the biggest stage, where you should be celebrating, Jenni has to be physically assaulted by this guy,” said Rapinoe.
She referred to Rubiales’ behaviour at the final as portraying “a deep level of misogyny and sexism”.