The name of the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, who is under criticism that may lead to his loss of office, is frequently mentioned because of a kiss on the lips of one of his country’s national team players after winning the Women’s World Cup, a few days ago.
The man began his football career as a player in an attacking midfield position, and then became president of the Players’ Union.
The controversial 46-year-old Rubiales faces many calls for him to resign after he grabbed the head of the star, Jennifer Hermoso, before kissing her forcefully after Spain beat England 1-0 in the final, last Sunday, in Australia.
And Spanish media reported, on Thursday, that Rubiales will submit his resignation during the extraordinary general assembly held by the Spanish Federation, on Friday, in order to discuss this issue that occupied public opinion.
Agence France-Presse tried to contact the Spanish Federation to confirm rumors in the media about Rubiales’ intention to resign, but did not get an answer.
After it was reported that he was about to resign, Spain’s Equality Minister, Irene Montero, wrote on social media that “feminism changes everything.”
Before talking about his intention to resign, FIFA announced, on Thursday, that it had initiated disciplinary procedures against Rubiales, adding in a statement, “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee informed Luis Rubiales, President of the Spanish Football Federation, today (Thursday) that it will open disciplinary procedures against him in connection with the events.” occurred during the final match.
FIFA said the incident “may constitute a breach of Article 13, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the FIFA Disciplinary Code”.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described Rubiales’ actions as “unacceptable”, while the Spanish women’s league, La Liga F, called for his removal from office.
Born in the Canary Islands, Spain, but raised in Motril on the Mediterranean coast, Rubiales played for several lower division teams before ending his football career in 2009 at Scottish club Hamilton Academical.
Former Levante coach Manolo Preciado once said about Rubiales, who played for Valencia between 2003 and 2008, that “he was a modern defender, very physically strong. He loved attacking. He was always a model of dedication and loyalty with everyone.”
At Levante, Rubiales led a players’ revolt against unpaid wages and may have inherited a taste for public life from his father, who served as the socialist mayor of Motril in the mid-1990s.
The team went on strike and the players eventually got paid, a success that likely emboldened him to fight for his colleagues in the Spanish Footballers’ Association, which he chaired between 2010 and 2017.
Under his leadership, the Spanish players’ union called strikes twice – in 2011 and 2015 – and oversaw the creation of a fund to cover unpaid salaries. He also persuaded La Liga to agree to pay the players’ association a percentage of the television rights.
“I will definitely win.”
His first confrontations with the president of the Spanish League, “La Liga”, Javier Tebas, began during this period, and continued when Rubiales was elected president of the Football Association in 2018.
Tebas once said he felt Rubiales was “unqualified” for the job.
Rubiales defeated his counterpart, Juan Luis Larrea, former federation treasurer and interim president, in the election to become president.
Larrea assumed the position on an interim basis after the long-time president of the federation, Ángel María Villar, was suspended on suspicion of embezzlement and other wrongdoing.
“I will definitely win,” Rubiales, a divorced father of three, told reporters before the vote.
Shortly after his election, Rubiales sacked, in a surprising move, the Spanish national team coach, Julen Lopetegui, just two days before the start of the 2018 World Cup, after the latter reached an agreement to train Real Madrid.
Re-elected president of the federation in 2020, Rubiales has angered the traditionalists of Spanish football by expanding the Spanish Super Cup competition between the league champion and the Spanish Cup winner into a four-team competition.
He also faced a backlash for signing a lucrative deal to play in the competition in Saudi Arabia, which is under fire for its human rights record.
“lies”
In 2022, Spanish media published leaked audio recordings from 2019 alleging that a company called Cosmos, owned by former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, had demanded millions of dollars in commission over the transfer of the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia.
Rubiales denied the allegations, calling them “lies” and saying he was “extremely angry that information was illegally stolen from his mobile phone”.
Meanwhile, Rubiales has won praise for increasing the federation’s number of sponsors and revenue, and improving conditions for the lower divisions, which has won the support of the regional football federations.
“He has brought about a radical change. He has put an institution from the 19th century into the 21st century,” Oscar Flay, president of the football federation of the northeastern region of Aragon, told sports radio MARCA last year.
Rubiales tripled the women’s football budget to 406 million euros ($439 million) in 2022, but at the same time sided with the women’s national team coach, Jorge Vilda, when 15 international players rebelled last year over the coach’s methods. The bet paid off as the team won the Women’s World Cup, but the way Rubiales celebrated put his position on edge.
2023-08-25 06:57:41
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