Luis Rubiales faces a Fifa investigation after he kissed Spain international forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips following the country’s Women’s World Cup win last week.
Rubiales, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president, kissed Hermoso during the trophy presentation ceremony and was also filmed appearing to grab his crotch when celebrating Spain’s first Women’s World Cup at the expense of England. Hermoso and her union said in a statement on Wednesday that she hopes he faces “exemplary measures”.
Rubiales’ behaviour has been widely condemned across the world, with Spanish government politicians being among those to call for his resignation.
Adding to the condemnation, Real Madrid’s men’s team manager Carlo Ancelotti said: “I didn’t like it. It is not the behaviour of a president of a federation.”
A statement from Fifa said on Thursday: “The Fifa disciplinary committee informed Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Football Association, today that it is opening disciplinary proceedings against him based on the events that occurred during the final of the Fifa Women’s World Cup on 20 August 2023.
“The events may constitute violations of article 13 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Fifa disciplinary code.
“The Fifa disciplinary committee will only provide further information on these disciplinary proceedings once it has issued a final decision on the matter.
“Fifa reiterates its unwavering commitment to respecting the integrity of all individuals and strongly condemns any behaviour to the contrary.”
Article 13 of Fifa’s disciplinary code covers “offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play”. Its first paragraph refers to the need for people to “comply with the principles of fair play, loyalty and integrity”, while its second paragraph includes possible offences such as “violating the basic rules of decent conduct” and “behaving in a way that brings the sport of football and/or Fifa into disrepute,” although Fifa’s statement has not specified exactly which of these Rubiales is accused of.
His behaviour has been criticised for distracting from the historic achievement of Spain’s first ever major international women’s trophy. Liga F, the top women’s league in Spain, has publicly called for Rubiales to be “disqualified” and said: “One of the greatest feats in the history of Spanish sport was sullied by the embarrassing behaviour of the highest representative of Spanish football.
“It’s not just about the kiss. It is an attitude that is far removed from the values of our society. This behaviour has generated a historic social alarm worldwide and has earned the rejection and contempt of the political class, the media and prominent representatives of culture, art or sport. This is an unprecedented international embarrassment for the Spain brand. We cannot allow this episode to go without consequences.”
