FIFA Suspends Rubiales Over Women's World Cup Kiss

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Facts

  • FIFA's Disciplinary Committee on Saturday provisionally suspended Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales from all soccer-related activities for 90 days after he kissed Women's World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso on the lips.1
  • This comes a day after Rubiales refused to step down despite being under heavy criticism at an emergency RFEF meeting, claiming the kiss was a "consensual peck" and vowing to fight until the end against what he called a witch hunt.2
  • Shortly after this speech, which came as a surprise after widespread reports that Rubiales planned to quit, the Spanish government announced that it had started legal proceedings to suspend the 46-year-old from his position.3
  • Rubiales has already been hit with a sexual assault probe as criminal complaints to the Prosecutor's Office in Madrid and the State Attorney General's Office were filed against him as Hermoso denies having consented to the kiss.4
  • Over 50 Spanish women's soccer players — including all 23 World Cup champions — have reiterated support for Hermoso in an open letter, promising not to honor future call-ups for the national team while Rubiales continues to hold office.5
  • In response, the RFEF said that called-up players are obliged to play for the national team. The federation has also challenged Hermoso's account of the event and threatened to take corresponding legal actions.6

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Reuters, 3ESPN.com, 4Daily Mail, 5CBS, and 6BBC News.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by MARCA. Rubiales has committed a bona fide error in a moment of exhilaration, eclipsing the historic achievement of the Spanish women's national team in the World Cup. While he has a great relationship with Hermoso and other players, it's evident now that he should have realized his actions would be inappropriate, especially during the awards ceremony, because of his position as president of such an important institution.
  • Narrative B, as provided by El País. This outrageous incident isn't a one-off case, but rather the latest example of frequently unprofessional behaviors endured by Spanish female soccer players operating in a male-dominated system. It's telling that it was only when he was under pressure that Rubiales provided even a half-hearted apology after publicly forcing a kiss on Hermoso — he still remains silent on other instances of vulgar conduct and should be held to account.