MADRID — The Spanish soccer federation president apologized on Monday after an unsolicited kiss he planted on participant Jenni Hermoso’s lips throughout celebrations of the nation’s Women’s World Cup victory sparked outrage in Spain.
The incident occurred as federation chief Luis Rubiales handed the Spanish crew gold medals after they beat England 1-0 within the ultimate on Sunday.
“Surely I was wrong, I have to admit,” Rubiales stated in a video assertion despatched by the federation. “It was without bad faith at a time of maximum effusiveness.”
Hermoso advised teammates afterwards within the locker room that she “didn’t like it,” in accordance with video footage posted on Instagram and YouTube by El Mundo newspaper and different media shops.
She later downplayed the incident in an announcement despatched to Spanish news company EFE by the federation.
“It was a mutual gesture that was totally spontaneous, prompted by the huge joy of winning a World Cup,” the assertion stated. “The ‘presi’ and I have a great relationship, his behavior with all of us has always been 10 (out of 10) and this was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.”
Post-game video footage additionally depicts Rubiales kissing different gamers on the cheek or embracing them when handing out the medals.
Gender points are a robust subject in Spain. The Socialist-led authorities has presided over a raft of authorized reforms round gender change, abortion and intercourse work, however a loophole in its legislation round sexual consent let rapists out of jail, leading to a big electoral loss by Montero’s far-left Podemos occasion, within the authorities coalition, in July’s election.
Asked once more concerning the incident on Spain’s COPE Radio station, Hermoso stated: “I wish they created [controversy] involving someone else, I’m a world champion and that’s what matters.”
‘Unacceptable’
Several authorities ministers and media commentators criticized the gesture.
Acting Culture and Sports Minister Miquel Iceta stated on RNE radio the kiss was “unacceptable” and requested Rubiales to offer an evidence and to apologize.
A non-consensual kiss is “a kind of sex violence all women suffer daily, which was until now invisible, and which we cannot normalize,” performing Gender Equality Minister Irene Montero stated on social messaging platform X, previously often known as Twitter.
Acting Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra, who belongs to Montero’s occasion, requested “if they do that with all of Spain watching, what might they do privately?”
An opinion column in Spain’s top-selling El Pais newspaper on Monday morning was titled: “Jenni didn’t like the kiss and we didn’t either”—describing it as “an intrusion, an invasion of privacy, an aggression.”
Rubiales had initially minimized the outrage, calling critics “idiots.”
“The kiss with Jenni? There are idiots everywhere. When two people have a moment of affection that means nothing more, you can’t listen to idiocy. We are the champions, that’s it,” he stated, in accordance with Radio Marca.
But in his apology afterward Monday, Rubiales included those that known as him out.
“I also want to apologize to these persons,” he stated. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
