Kiss scandal surrounding association leader Rubiales: now the Spanish judiciary is becoming active

Spanish Football Federation RFEF calls on President Rubiales to resign

10:50 p.m.: The presidents of the Spanish football associations have called for the immediate resignation of association boss Luis Rubiales. After a meeting on Monday evening, the association announced that the presidents of the regional associations “after the recent events and the unacceptable behavior that has seriously damaged the image of Spanish football” no longer want Rubiales in office. The head of the Spanish national association RFEF kissed the player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth at the award ceremony after winning the World Cup final in Sydney on August 20 – and thus triggered criticism and outrage at home and abroad. He has so far refused to resign.

“We will request the relevant bodies to undertake a profound and immediate restructuring of the federation’s strategic positions in order to pave the way for a new phase in the governance of Spanish football,” the statement said. The world association FIFA had already suspended Rubiales for 90 days and initiated disciplinary proceedings.

Kiss scandal: Spanish judiciary becomes active

4.40 p.m.: The public prosecutor’s office has become active in the kiss scandal involving Luis Rubiales. According to media reports, the public prosecutor’s office at the national state court in Madrid said on Monday that the authority would ask Jennifer Hermoso, who was kissed by Rubiales after the World Cup triumph in Australia. A judicial spokesman confirmed this on request.

The public prosecutor’s office assumes “due to the clear public statements” that the 33-year-old Hermoso could have been the victim of an alleged sexual assault, since there was apparently “no type of consent”, it said. However, the authority cannot act ex officio and, under Spanish law, requires a report from the player or a legal representative. As reported by radio station Cadena Ser, Hermoso has 15 days after the request to file a complaint.

Hermoso recently said she “felt the victim of an impulsive, sexist and inappropriate act that I did not consent to.”

Rubiales Scandal: UEFA in Contact mit der FIFA

3 p.m.: The European football union UEFA is leaving jurisdiction in the scandal surrounding UEFA Vice President Luis Rubiales to the world association FIFA for the time being. According to dpa information, both umbrella organizations have been discussing how to proceed in the past few days – the case should remain in the hands of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. This had Rubiales initially suspended for 90 days for his abusive behavior at the award ceremony after the women’s World Cup final on August 20 in Sydney. The president of the Spanish federation RFEF kissed the player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth.

Rubiales has been a vice-president of the UEFA Executive Committee since 2019. So far, no senior UEFA official has commented on the scandal. According to reports, UEFA claims that the World Cup is a FIFA event and that the disciplinary proceedings are also pending at the world association, and UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin is said to be directly involved in the exchange.

Suspended Rubiales’ mother reportedly on hunger strike

Monday, August 28, 12:50 p.m.: According to media reports, the mother of the 46-year-old went on a hunger strike in the kiss scandal surrounding the now suspended Spanish football association president Luis Rubiales. The woman locked herself in a church in the Andalusian city of Motril in the south of the country on Monday in protest at what she saw as an “inhuman and bloody hunt” for her son, state television broadcaster RTVE and other local media reported.

Accordingly, she wanted to continue the strike “day and night” until “justice was done”. The mother says her son is a good person who has never harassed anyone, Spanish media reported.

RTVE cameras showed numerous journalists, photographers, cameramen and onlookers gathering in front of the Church of Divina Pastora on Monday afternoon. According to the priest, Rubiales’ mother is accompanied by her sister. She is very nervous and crying.

A cousin of Rubiales told journalists outside the church: “We are all suffering greatly. He was prejudiced.” Relatives and friends of the 46-year-old are firmly convinced that the kiss was mutually agreed. Hermoso had vehemently denied this version. Another RFEF crisis meeting was scheduled for Monday.

Baerbock criticizes the head of the Spanish association: “Simply unimaginable”

6 p.m.: Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has clearly criticized the suspended Spanish football association president Luis Rubiales for his encroaching behavior after the World Cup final. “One only has to imagine that Angela Merkel would have kissed Philipp Lahm like that in 2014. All hell would have broken loose or that is simply unimaginable and says it all,” Baerbock said on Sunday on the sidelines of a Turbine Potsdam game. “Also about those who now want to portray it as somehow normal.”

The fact that the disciplinary committee of the world association FIFA had suspended Rubiales for 90 days on Saturday was “more than right,” said the Greens politician. In 2014, the German men’s team won the World Cup in Brazil and was also celebrated by the then Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The 46-year-old Rubiales kissed the player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth at the award ceremony after the World Cup final on August 20 in Sydney, triggering great outrage and criticism. After the suspension by FIFA, the Spanish sports courts are also advising on the case. Rubiales had ruled out resigning on Friday.

Crisis meeting of the Spanish federation after Rubiales scandal

Sunday, August 27 at 5:35 p.m : After the kissing scandal and the suspension of association president Luis Rubiales, the Spanish football association RFEF is meeting again this Monday (4:00 p.m.). The RFEF invited the regional associations to an emergency meeting in Madrid, as reported by Spanish media.

The initiative came from interim President Pedro Rocha. He is considered a close confidant of Rubiales. According to the media, it is not about fundamental decisions, but about day-to-day business in the transition phase.

Despite suspension by FIFA: Rubiales continues to fight for his power

Spain’s controversial association president Luis Rubiales wants to fight for his position of power with all means even after the provisional suspension by the world football association FIFA. Rubiales trusts the FIFA authorities “completely” and the disciplinary proceedings initiated against him give him the opportunity “to begin his defense so that the truth will prevail and his complete innocence will be proven,” as the Spanish football association RFEF said in a statement on Saturday announced.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee had previously suspended the 46-year-old because of the kiss scandal after the women’s World Cup final. Rubiales is thus banned from all football-related activities at national and international level. The suspension is provisional for 90 days, pending the disciplinary proceedings that FIFA had initiated against him. The RFEF announced that Pedro Rocha Junco will lead the Spanish federation on an interim basis.

At the same time, the world association ordered that Rubiales may not contact national player Jennifer Hermoso or her immediate environment, either personally or through a third person. The same applies to the RFEF association and its officials and employees.

Rubiales kissed Hermoso on the mouth at the award ceremony after winning the World Cup final last Sunday. He later admitted a mistake, but the association boss refused to resign at the extraordinary general meeting on Friday. In its proceedings, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee is investigating Rubiales’ violation of Article 13 of its own regulations, which is entitled “Offending behavior and violations of the principles of fair play”. Rubiales is also Vice-President of the European Football Union UEFA.