Hitting the athlete with a ‘surprise kiss’… Apology from the head of the Spanish Football Association
“I had no bad intentions at all… I will be more careful as the head of an organization”
World Cup
After winning the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Luis Rubiales,
president of the Spanish Football Association,
who was criticized for suddenly kissing a player from his country, finally made an official apology.
“I made a mistake,” said President Rubiales through a video released
by the Spanish Football Association to media outlets such as ESPN on the 21st (local time).
There was no bad intention at all,” he said.
However, “the outside wave grew.
Because that scene hurt a lot of people’s hearts,” he said. “For this, I have to apologize.
I will learn more from this incident and remind myself again that as the head of an organization, I must act prudently.” He said,
“(Winning the World Cup) is even more sad because it is the greatest success women’s football has achieved in our history.
I want to celebrate Spain’s second win (both men and women), and this has had an impact.” 바카라사이트
President Rubiales
He was thrilled to win the World Cup for the first time in history, but during the award ceremony that followed,
President Rubiales hugged midfielder Heniper Hermoso, who came up to the podium, and held his face with both hands and kissed him.
Later, in the locker room, a scene in which Hermoso laughed at a related question during a live performance through Instagram and said,
“I wasn’t in a good mood” was shared through social media such as X (X, old Twitter), causing a stir.
Heniper Hermoso
Afterwards, Hermoso belatedly supported President Rubiales, saying, “It was an expression of intimacy” through the Spanish Football Association.
Hermoso said, “Winning the World Cup brought great joy and it was a natural movement,” adding, “There is no problem with the president.”
However, major foreign media all criticized Rubiales’ actions as being close to sexual violence in a broad sense as it was ‘physical contact without consent’.
Spain’s representative daily El Pais said, ‘Hermoso did not like Rubiales’ kiss.
We set the day of criticism through an editorial titled ‘So are we’.
El Pais pointed out, “The president of the Spanish Football Association could be said to have misunderstood,
but suddenly kissing someone on the mouth is an ‘attack'” and “a ‘thief kiss’ doesn’t always come as a surprise and pleasant.
On the contrary, it is an infringement.” did.
Spain’s Minister
Spain’s Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, also criticized through X that “don’t take kissing without consent as a matter of course” and that “it is part of sexual violence that women experience on a daily basis.”
President Rubiales has been at the center of the controversy surrounding the Spanish women’s national team.
saying that the coaching method of the current head coach, Jorge Villa, was coercive.
In September of last year, 15 key players in Spain suddenly protested and expressed their intention to ‘boycott’,
On the one hand, President Rubiales has emphasized support for female athletes in public events.
In an interview during his visit to Korea in March, he said,
“The goal of Spanish football is for the men’s and women’s national teams to advance side by side without discrimination.”