Jenni Hermoso hits back over Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales’ kiss on the lips
World Cup champion Jennifer Hermoso has hit back over claims Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales’ post-match kiss was “natural and normal”.
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Spain’s Jennifer Hermoso has called for “exemplary measures” against Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales after he kissed the star on the lips after the Women’s World Cup Final.
Spain defeated England 1-0 to become just the second nation after Germany to win both the men’s and women’s World Cup.
But while Spain celebrated the victory, Rubiales appeared to take it too far during the post-match ceremony.
Rubiales was excitedly greeting each of the players but vision caught the RFEF boss bear hug the 33-year-old Hermoso and kiss her on the lips.
Speaking on an Instagram Live after the result, Hermoso said of the incident “I didn’t like it”.
Spanish football reporter Colin Millar also reported Hermoso said of the incident: “Eh … yeah, I did not enjoy that”.
Later the Spanish federation passed on a statement supposedly from Hermoso downplaying the incident.
“It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that winning a World Cup brings,” the statement read.
“The president and I have a great relationship, his behaviour with all of us has been outstanding and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.
“A gesture of friendship and gratitude cannot be gone over so much, we have won a World Cup and we are not going to deviate from what is important.”
But days on from the incident, there have been reports the statement was not approved by Hermoso and was released without her consent.
Hermoso released a joint statement with her union and agent calling for Rubiales to be sanctioned.
“My union FUTPRO, in co-ordination with my agency TMJ, are taking care of defending my interests and have taken over as my interlocutors on this matter,” the statement said.
FUTPRO continued adding: “We express our firm and resounding condemnation of behaviours that violate the dignity of women.
“From our association, we ask the Royal Spanish Football Federation to implement the necessary protocols, ensure the rights of our players and adopt exemplary measures. It is essential that our team, the current world champion, is always represented by figures who project values of equality and respect in all areas.
“It is necessary to continue advancing in the fight for equality, a fight that our players have led with determination, leading us to the position in which we find ourselves today.
“We also call on the Higher Sports Council so that, within its powers, it actively supports and promotes prevention and intervention in the face of sexual harassment or abuse, machismo and sexism.
“FUTPRO rejects any attitude or conduct that violates the rights of soccer players and from the union we are working so that acts like the ones we have seen never go unpunished, are sanctioned and the pertinent measures are adopted to protect soccer players from actions that we believe are unacceptable.”
‘Insufficient and inadequate’: Rubiales slammed
It comes as Rubiales has been slammed from all sections as he sought to downplay the incident.
After the match, Radio MARCA reported he said: “The kiss with Jenni? There are idiots everywhere. When two people have a minor show of affection, we can’t listen to idiocy.”
But on the team’s way home, Rubiales said via a video message: “There’s also an event which I have to regret and it is everything that has happened between a player and I, with a magnificent connection between both people, just as with others.
“And where I surely made a mistake, I need to recognise it, because in a moment of maximum effusiveness, with no bad intention, with no bad faith, what happened happened — I think in a very spontaneous way. I repeat: with no bad faith from either of the two parties.
“From that point on, here they didn’t understand it because we saw it as something natural, normal and not at all — and I repeat — with any bad faith.
“But outside it seems as if it has caused a stir. Of course, if there are people who felt hurt by this, I need to apologise — there’s no alternative. And also learn from this and understand that a president of such an important institution as the federation has to — above all in ceremonies and in these types of questions — be more careful.
“Then there are some declarations on my part where, in this context, (I said) that this seems to me something stupid — it’s because of that. Because in here, nobody gave it any importance at all but outside they have. So I also want to apologise in front of those people because I understand that, if outside they saw it in a different way, they will surely have their reasons.
“And finally I am sorry that, after the biggest success of our history in women’s football and one of the biggest in general — it’s the second World Cup we’ve won — this has tarnished the celebration in a certain way. I think we have to give merit to these women, to the team led by Jorge Vilda and we have to celebrate this in style.”
Reports have emerged from the Spanish camp that claimed Hermoso was pressured by Rubiales to appear in a video alongside him.
Hermoso refused before Spanish coach Jorge Vilda approached her family to try to persuade them to convince her. He reportedly tried three times.
Earlier, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called Rubiales’ belated apology “insufficient and inadequate”.
Spain’s sports minister on Monday demanded Rubiales apologise.
“I think it is unacceptable to kiss a player on the lips to congratulate her,” acting minister Miquel Iceta told Spanish public radio.
Rubiales has come under fire across the world and at home in Spain, with some Spanish clubs calling for him to step down.
Getafe’s president Angel Torres: “What Rubiales has to do is resign, his behaviour has been deplorable,” said on Wednesday.
“He cannot continue for a minute more as president of the federation.”
Spain’s women’s football league Liga F has also called for Rubiales removal.
“For a boss to grab his employee by the head and kiss her on the mouth simply cannot be tolerated,” it said.
“The subsequent justifications are, as the prime minister described it, ‘inadequate’.”
American forward Megan Rapinoe, the world’s highest-profile women’s player, was similarly scathing in an interview with The Atlantic on Tuesday.
“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,” Rapinoe said.
She referred to Rubiales’ behaviour at the final as portraying “a deep level of misogyny and sexism”.
“He has harassed and, without any doubt, assaulted a woman,” Yolanda Diaz, Second Deputy Prime Minister and leader of political party Sumar, said on Tuesday, adding that Rubiales should resign.
news.com.au has reached out to Mr Rubiales for comment.
With AFP
Originally published as Jenni Hermoso hits back over Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales’ kiss on the lips
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