By Oluwatosin Maliki
On Monday, FIFA announced a three-year ban that has been imposed on the former Spanish football chief, Luis Rubiales, following his forced kiss on the lips of World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso, shocking the world of football.
Recall that on August 20th, Rubiales kissed the female player during the medal ceremony after Spain won the Women’s World Cup in Sydney. This unsolicited kiss sparked widespread outrage, leading to the provisional suspension of Rubiales by the World Football governing body for 90 days following the incident.
According to FIFA, Rubiales had violated its code of conduct, and as a result, he will be banned from all football activities for three years.
Hermoso, who reacted to the kiss, expressed that the incident left her feeling “vulnerable and like the victim of an assault” and described it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part.”
Although Rubiales had repeatedly insisted that the kiss was consensual, he resigned from his position as the chief of the Spanish football federation in September.
The Zurich-based organization stated, “The FIFA disciplinary committee has banned Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Association (RFEF), from all football-related activities at national and international levels for three years.”
Additionally, FIFA stated that Rubiales had been notified of the decision on Monday and has only 10 days to request a motivated decision. If requested, the decision will be published on FIFA’s legal website.
The statement said, “The decision remains subject to a possible appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee.”
Meanwhile, FIFA reiterated its absolute commitment to respecting and protecting the integrity of all people and ensuring that the basic rules of decent conduct are upheld.
BACKGROUND
The kiss occurred when Spain had beaten England 1-0 in the World Cup final, which led to significant backlash against Rubiales. Consequently, the RFEF quickly put out a statement quoting Hermoso as saying the kiss was “a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.”
Furthermore, Rubiales offered a cursory apology but later maintained his stance in a defiant speech to a meeting of the federation on August 25, eventually prompting Hermoso to issue her own statement denying that the kiss was consensual and stating it had left her feeling “vulnerable” and like “the victim of an assault.”
The following day, the federation accused the female player of “lies” regarding the incident and threatened legal action against her.
As a result of the controversy, the coach of the World Cup-winning team, Jorge Vilda, who had fully supported Rubiales when his authoritarian methods were questioned last year, was later fired and replaced by a woman, Montse Tome.
It was reported in Spain that Vilda had demanded to check players’ shopping bags, which led the squad to leave their bedroom doors open during team training camps to ensure the players were still there in the evenings.
Despite the removal of Rubiales and Vilda, the players of Spain’s national women’s team continued to express their concerns, noting that the management methods were not changing fast enough and even threatening to go on strike.
Hermoso has made a strong return despite the controversy. She returned to action for the national team on Friday and scored the winner in the 1-0 Nations League victory against Italy.
Afterward, she said, “I can tell you (I thought about) many things, but life sometimes gives you little gifts, and today I thought about a lot of people behind me this time.”
“I am happy because, thanks to them, today I enjoyed football once again,” she added.