The Spanish Football Federation on Tuesday “asked forgiveness” from the “football world and the whole of society” for the “unacceptable” behavior of its president Luis Rubiales, suspended by Fifa after kissing player Jenni on the mouth Hermoso. In a letter signed by its interim president Pedro Rocha, the federation “sincerely asks forgiveness from world football as a whole […] for the totally unacceptable behavior of its highest institutional representative during the final” of the World Cup women, on August 20 in Sydney.
This behavior “does not correspond at all to the values of the whole of Spanish society, its institutions, its representatives, its athletes and the leaders of Spanish sport”, indicates this letter published by the federation. “The damage caused to Spanish football, to Spanish sport, to Spanish society and to all the values of football and sport” by Rubiales’ attitude “has been enormous”, the federation further laments.
The coach of the Spanish women’s football team, Jorge Vilda, close to Luis Rubiales and whose methods were criticized by his players, was also dismissed from his post on Tuesday. The RFEF said in a statement “to separate from Jorge Vilda as sporting director and coach of the women’s national team”, a dismissal presented as “one of the first restructuring measures” of the Spanish football authorities, immersed in chaos with Rubiales’ forced kiss to player Jennifer Hermoso after Spain’s world title on August 20. In the aftermath, the federation appoints Montse Tomé as head of the Spanish women’s team. She becomes the first woman to hold this position.
A few minutes after the women’s world title in Sydney, the Spanish football boss kissed No. 10 Jenni Hermoso on the mouth by surprise, causing international outrage. Pushed from all sides to resign, Luis Rubiales, in a virulent speech, refused to leave his post “because of a little kiss granted” and denounced a lawsuit brought by “false feminism”. FIFA suspended him on August 26 “from all football-related activity at national and international level” for 90 days and pending the progress of the ongoing procedures.
In its text, the Spanish federation also says it is committed to improving its “governance” in order to “repair” the damage caused and to “guarantee that these behaviors do not recur”. According to the press, the coach of the women’s team, Jorge Vilda, close to Luis Rubiales and whose methods are criticized by his players, could bear the brunt of the internal restructuring of the federation and be sacked.
The 23 players from La Roja crowned world champions in Australia have announced that they refuse to be called up until there is a change at the head of the federation. Their men’s counterparts on Monday condemned Rubiales’ “unacceptable behavior” in a joint statement read to the press by Atlético Madrid striker Alvaro Morata.