Luis Rubiales slammed with 3yr ban
For kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips, carried away by the euphoria of the Spanish team’s 1-0 victory over England in Sydney, Australia on August 20, 2023, at the Women’s World Cup final trophy ceremony, Luis Rubiales, former Spanish Soccer Federation President, today, Monday, October 30, 2023, got banned for three years by FIFA
Rubiales by this ban is to stay away from all soccer activities till after the men’s 2026 World Cup. His ban expires before the next women’s tournament in 2027.
Spanish prosecutors accused Rubiales of sexual assault and coercion. Hermoso said that Rubiales pressured her to speak out in his defense amid the global furor.
Rubiales denied wrongdoing to a judge in Madrid who imposed a restraining order for him not to contact Hermoso, the record goal scorer for the Spain women’s team.
FIFA has said it was investigating whether Rubiales violated “basic rules of decent conduct” and “behaving in a way that brings the sport of football and/or FIFA into disrepute.”
In another incident, at the final whistle in Sydney Rubiales was accused of grabbing his crotch as a victory gesture while he was in an exclusive section of seats and Queen Letizia of Spain and 16-year-old Princess Sofía were standing close nearby.
A third incident FIFA judges cited to remove Rubiales from office during their investigation was “carrying the Spanish player Athenea del Castillo over his shoulder during the post match celebrations” was detailed in a ruling to explain why he was provisionally suspended.
Before the Women’s World Cup, Rubiales a former professional player and union leader had been the target of unproven allegations of a sexual nature about his managerial culture, including at the national federation he led since 2018.
The Spanish players preparation for the Women’s World Cup also was in turmoil in the year ahead of the tournament because of their dissatisfaction with the leadership of their male coach, Jorge Vilda.
Vilda was supported by Rubiales to stay in the job despite 15 players asking last year not to be called up again because of the emotional pain it meant to play for the team. Three continued their self imposed exile and refused to be selected for the World Cup.
As the Rubiales scandal continued into September, with lawmakers supporting the players, Vilda was fired by the federation’s interim management.
Rubiales resigned on September 10, 2023 after three weeks of defiance that increased pressure on him from the Spanish government and national-team players.
“After my swift suspension by FIFA, and the rest of the cases building against me, it is clear that I cannot return to the post,” Rubiales said as he gave up the federation presidency.
He also gave up his vice presidency of European soccer body UEFA which paid him 250,000 euros ($265,000) a year. One day later UEFA thanked Rubiales for his service in a statement that offered no backing to the women players.
When Rubiales resigned he said he did not want to be a distraction from Spain’s bid to host the men’s 2030 World Cup in a UEFA-backed project with Portugal and Morocco.
That bid has since been picked by FIFA as the only candidate to host the 2030 tournament in a plan that now also includes its former opponents Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. That unprecedented three-continent deal has allowed Saudi Arabia to emerge as the overwhelming favorite to host the men’s 2034 World Cup.
The Morocco soccer federation that partnered with Spain on the men’s 2030 World Cup later hired Vilda to coach its women’s national team. The Morocco women were a standout story at their World Cup reaching the last-16 knockout round in their tournament debut.
The quick forgiveness of Vilda fueled the view that soccer administrators’ actions often do not meet their claims of zero tolerance of misconduct.
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