The most shameful day in the history of Spanish sport.
The Extraordinary General Meeting of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) lived up to that particular adjective, and then went beyond the remotely comprehensible. In a jaw-dropping address, President Luis Rubiales defiantly refused to resign over his behaviour in the aftermath of Spain’s World Cup triumph last weekend.
Ahead of the meeting, all reports indicated he was finally going to do the right thing and go, with some suggestions that Jorge Vilda would follow.
In remarkable developments, Rubiales channeled his inner Jordan Belfort from The Wolf of Wall Street, emphatically repeating his refusal to step aside, proceeding to lash out at his accusers as “fake feminists” embarking on some kind of “social assassination”.
Rubiales is clearly corrupted with power, feeling able to act with impunity and brush off any denouncements against him. He is enabled by his pack of cheerleaders, all of whom applauded him at Las Rozas on Friday. This included both senior head coaches, Jorge Vilda and Luis de la Fuente.
The reaction has been one of outrage and disbelief. Rafael del Amo resigned his position as President of the National Women’s Football Committee. Then, Víctor Francos, President of Spain’s Superior Sports Council (CSD) announced that the government will push to have Rubiales suspended, going through the Court of Arbitration for Sport if they need to.
As for the players — the ones who have been most affected by all of the disgraces in this most wretched of weeks — have released a powerful joint statement through FUTPRO.
Jenni Hermoso directly contradicted Rubiales by denying she gave consent to the kiss on the lips. All 23 of the World Cup winning squad have stated that they will not play for Spain until the current leaders have left their posts. A further 58 players who were not in the squad also signed up to this statement, including the remainder of the 15 who initiallyprotested and stepped away from the national team in 2022.
“I want to clarify that, as was seen in the images, at no time did I consent to the kiss he gave me… I do not tolerate my word being questioned, and much less the invention of words I have not said”.
— Jenni Hermoso’s statement on Friday afternoon.
Borja Iglesias was incensed too, standing down from the national team until radical change is undertaken. He was supported by his Betis team-mates Isco and Héctor Bellerín.
There will be more fallout over the weekend and in the coming days and weeks. This arrogant, shameless display from Rubiales has torn down any veil of trust or competence left in the upper echelons of the Federation.
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