Former Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales was “aggressive” after the Women’s World Cup final and made “inappropriate” gestures towards English players, the president of the English federation, Debbie Hewitt, testified, according to a text published Wednesday by FIFA.
The global governing body made public a summary of the testimony collected by its disciplinary committee, which led it, on October 30, to suspend Luis Rubiales for three years from all football-related activities.
The manager not only kissed Spanish striker Jenni Hermoso “entirely and forcefully on the mouth”, reported the president of the Football Association (FA), but he also had troubled behavior with certain English internationals, according to She.
According to FIFA, Ms Hewitt said Luis Rubiales “touched and caressed the face of England player Laura Coombs, which [the FA president] found slightly strange, and then apparently forcibly kissed England player Lucy Bronze on the face.”
Other players kissed and forcefully hugged
Luis Rubiales “eagerly hugged and forcibly kissed other players on the cheeks, holding their heads and inappropriately patting certain parts of their bodies,” the English leader said in another testimony, established jointly. with the New Zealand federation.
In his response, Mr. Rubiales called it “disgusting” that Debbie Hewitt described him as “kind of a creep” and accused her of “blatant lies” or “speaking out of ignorance.” Concerning Laura Coombs, he explains in particular that he “tried to comfort her” after her injury in the final, which resulted in a head bandage and stitches.
The FA President also noted the “unpleasant and unnecessarily aggressive” tone of the Spaniard, “unhappy” with the place assigned to him by FIFA staff before the medal ceremony.
On August 20, a few minutes after the world title of the women’s “Roja” in Sydney, the 46-year-old Spanish football boss surprised striker Jenni Hermoso on the mouth, provoking indignation in Spain and worldwide. Under pressure, Luis Rubiales ended up resigning on September 10, saying he was the victim of a “disproportionate campaign.”