Juan Rubiales, uncle of Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales, says his nephew needs ‘re-education’
Juan Rubiales, who was fired by Spanish football federation boss Luis Rubiales in 2020, claims his nephew is obsessed with power.
The uncle of Luis Rubiales, the disgraced Spanish football federation president, has said he is “arrogant” and needs re-educating about his relationship with women.
As Spain waits to see if the football chief will be sacked or resign, Juan Rubiales criticised his nephew, insisting that his family supported Jennifer Hermoso, who said she was kissed forcibly at the FIFA Women’s World Cup awards ceremony.
The uncle told El Confidencial, an online newspaper, that his nephew was “obsessed with power, obsessed with luxury, obsessed with money, even with women”. He added: “This boy needs a program of … re-education in his relationship with women.”
The former football executive told El Mundo newspaper: “Luis Rubiales has always been a man with a clear machista tinge, very arrogant.”
He added that his nephew had “attitudes typical of Torrente”, referring to a comic film about a corrupt, sexist, Franco-era former policeman. “Spanish society has changed,” he said. “It has drawn some red lines and has told him what cannot be done.”
Questioned about a party the disgraced football chief hosted in 2020 under the guise of a work meeting, the uncle said a group of 18-year-old women, alleged to be sex workers, were paid to attend.
“They seemed very young to me,” he added. “I told Luis: ‘But if these girls are 18 years old they could be your daughters.’ I went to my room. I heard noise in the background, from partying and such, but I didn’t want to know anything about it.”
He had previously told Spanish anti-corruption prosecutors that his nephew ordered him to use football federation funds to pay for the party. He alleged he was sacked from the federation, where he was chief of staff, when he refused to funnel money to the president’s father.
The RFEF, the governing body of football in Spain, has denied the allegations, saying they were “motivated by spite” from a former employee.
Rubiales faced further controversy when leaked recordings revealed that he agreed a €24 million ($40m) commission with Kosmos, the company owned by Gerard Pique, the former Barcelona defender. Kosmos brokered a 10-year deal for Saudi Arabia to host the RFEF competition, the Spanish Super Cup. Rubiales defended the deal and denied any conflict of interest. The cases remain open.
Rubiales has been unrepentant since his actions at the final celebrations in Sydney on August 20 inflamed public opinion in Spain and abroad.
A preliminary investigation has been opened into whether the kiss was a crime and more than 80 Spanish players, including the victorious women’s team, have said that they will not represent their country until Rubiales steps down.
His uncle said Rubiales could not get “out of this fix in an honourable way – what he has done is make this situation worse every day”.
He said, however, that he respected Rubiales’s mother, Angeles Bejar, 70, who went on a hunger strike in a church. She was taken to hospital briefly before being released.
“All mothers have the right,” the uncle said. “I know the woman is suffering. We Rubiales are absolutely positioned with the idea of dignity. And dignity is to defend Jenni [Hermoso] and reproach the embarrassing behaviour of this president.”
The Spanish Football Federation has ruled out calling a vote of no confidence against Rubiales. Sources told El Pais it would not hold presidential elections before next year.
The Times
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