Spanish Women’s League Files Complaint Against Luis Rubiales
The Spanish women’s league, Liga F, have released a lengthy statement condemning RFEF president Luis Rubiales’ behaviour and calling for him to be removed from his position after he grabbed Jenni Hermoso by the head and kissed her on the lips during the presentation ceremony of the Women’s World Cup final.
Rubiales, 46, is under mounting pressure to resign as president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF) after the incident. Hermoso said she ‘did not like it’ during an Instagram live afterwards while a later statement attributed to her playing down the incident has since been revealed to have been written by the RFEF without her approval.
Rubiales recorded an apology video on Monday – which Hermoso refused to appear in despite multiple requests – but that has done little to quell the backlash, with even Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, saying it ‘was not adequate’.
Liga F Files Complaint Against Rubiales
The Spanish football federation announced an emergency general assembly meeting for Friday to discuss what happened, but Rubiales was said to be privately confident of retaining his job.
But now Liga F – which boasts teams such as Barcelona and Real Madrid – have ramped up the pressure on Rubiales by filing an official complaint with Spain’s National Sports Council (Consejo Superior de Deportes – or CSD) demanding that the RFEF president be removed from his post.
A statement on Wednesday evening read: ‘One of the greatest feats in the history of Spanish sport was sullied by the embarrassing behaviour of the highest representative of Spanish football who, guided by his continuous and habitual desire for leadership, proved not to be up to the task he holds.
‘Celebrating the triumph in the VIP box clutching his genitals next to HM The Queen and Her Royal Highness the Infanta Dona Sofia is inadmissible and disgusting. For a boss to grab his worker by the head and kiss her on the mouth simply cannot be tolerated. Publicly branding those who reproach such attitudes as “a**holes and idiots” is inadmissible and disgusting. The subsequent justifications are, as the prime minister described it, “inadequate”.
The Impact of Rubiales’ Actions
The statement continued: ‘It’s not just about the kiss. It is an attitude that is far removed from the values of our society – an attitude that has gone down in the history of world sport and, most seriously, that will remain forever linked to our women’s national team.
‘This behaviour has generated an historic social alarm worldwide and has earned the rejection and contempt of politicians, the media and prominent representatives of culture, art and sport. This is an unprecedented international embarrassment for the image of Spain, for Spanish sport and for women’s football across the world. When the world should have its eyes on our football players, the president managed to get the world’s eyes to focus on his “manliness”.
‘Big changes usually come after big crises. The union shown by Spanish society, the success of our soccer players, women’s soccer and women in sport will be what will change the destiny of sport and Spanish soccer and put an end to these types of leaders and behaviour.’
The Need for Change
The statement concluded: ‘The seriousness of what happened, the damage caused and the unanimous worldwide rejection should force decisions to be made. Society has made itself clear. Spain and Spanish football do not deserve a representative of this level, and the institutions must accompany and respond to the feelings of society.
‘It is time to take a step forward. The opposite would be a humiliation for all women and the biggest defeat of Spanish sport and our country.’
Conclusion
The actions of Rubiales have caused an international scandal that has highlighted the need for change in Spanish football. Liga F have filed an official complaint with Spain’s National Sports Council demanding that Rubiales be removed from his post as president of the RFEF. For more stories like this,