President of the Spanish Football Federation is about to resign after kissing a female player
Regional leaders of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) met yesterday to discuss Rubiales' position. They agreed that the 46-year-old President should resign.
Currently, two potential candidates to replace Rubiales are Extremadura Football Federation President Pedro Rocha and Andalusian Football Federation President Pablo Lozano. According to Reuters, the notice of resignation will be made by Rubiales on August 25.
Rubiales was on stage at the FIFA awards ceremony after the 2023 Women's World Cup final on August 20 with other officials, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Queen Letizia of Spain and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. After presenting the medal, Rubiales hugged her, put her hands on her head and kissed Hermoso on the lips. The RFEF President then patted the back as the 11th player left.
This image immediately created a huge protest not only in Spain but on a global scale. Many leaders at the ministerial level, the Prime Ministers of countries have asked for Rubiales to resign, even though he and this female player are said to have a romantic relationship.
The RFEF came under greater pressure when FIFA announced the opening of an investigation into the incident. On August 22, Rubiales posted an apology video. The head of the RFEF considers the spontaneous moment with Hermoso to be normal, with no ill intentions, but still has to apologize before the wave of criticism. He sees this as a lesson and must learn from it, be more careful, especially in celebrations and similar complexities, as the head of Spanish football.
Rubiales played for a number of lower-class clubs in Spain before retiring in 2009, at Scottish club Hamilton Academical. A year later, he was appointed President of the Spanish Footballers Association (AFE). Rubiales held this position until he was elected RFEF President in 2018.
Rubiales once promised to restructure the RFEF, bringing the organization through the transition period after its predecessor Angel Maria Villar was arrested for corruption. However, he was also accused of self-interest when he signed a multi-million dollar contract to bring the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia. Last September, the Spanish women's team had an internal conflict. A large group of players protested and demanded that the RFEF sack coach Jorge Vilda. In response, Rubiales supported Vilda, empowering him to eliminate 12 of the 15 players involved in the uprising.
