Author: Soorya G
A special Spanish administrative court (TAD) has made an important decision by deciding not to classify Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales’ incident with national team player Jenni Hermoso at the World Cup final as a “very serious offense”. The incident, in which the head of the Spanish Football Federation allegedly forcibly kissed the player in question during the distribution of medals after the World Cup final, generated a huge storm on media platforms, with several players, fans and activists calling for his immediate resignation.However, Rubiales has been defiant in his stance, refuting all the allegations made against him. The president continues to claim that the kiss was consensual and that there was no harassment of any kind.
The court’s decision was probably influenced, among other things, by a video in which the national team players look at a photo of a kiss on the “victim’s” cell phone and then cheerfully comment on it. This contrasts sharply with the even more hypocritical behavior of these same footballers, who “suddenly” began to “condemn” the act…
However, various sectors of the sporting world seem to have a contrary opinion on the matter, with several members of the coaching staff resigning from their posts and a few other players opting not to play for La Roja until Rubiales is dismissed, Borja Mayoral being one of those players. However, the court classified Rubiales’ actions as “serious, but not very serious”. FIFA banned the head of the federation for a period of 90 days, but the TAD’s decision allows Rubiales to return to his post after the end of the suspension period. If the TAD had classified the transgression as “very serious”, the Spanish government could have intervened to remove Rubiales from his post, but as things stand, there is no such possibility.
Rubiales’ mother is at the epicenter of the consequences, having locked herself in a local church, fasting in protest against the “public lynching” of her son. She was later hospitalized. His mother has been totally by his side, even though Rubiales’ uncle has cast doubts on his character.
For the time being, Rubiales can continue to lead the Spanish Football Federation, although he will have to wait for events to unfold.