2023-08-22 14:31:00
Pedro Sanchez protested the gesture of the president of the Spanish Football Federation towards striker Jenni Hermoso after the World Cup final.
By IM with AFP At the end of the World Cup final, Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales kissed striker Jenni Hermoso on the mouth. © Noe Llamas / MAXPPP / ZUMA PRESS/MAXPPP/MAXPPP Posted on 08/22/2023 at 2:31 p.m.
The controversy continues around an episode which followed the victory of the Spanish footballers in the final of the World Cup: the kiss of the president of the Spanish Football Federation to the striker Jenni Hermoso. The outgoing Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, in turn spoke on the subject on Tuesday August 22, denouncing “an unacceptable gesture” and judging that his apologies were “insufficient”.
“What we saw was an unacceptable gesture […] and the apologies he has made are insufficient” and “inadequate”, Pedro Sanchez commented during a press conference in Madrid after an audience with King Felipe VI, calling on the president of the federation to “go further”. , without further details.
It was the first comment from the outgoing head of government on the controversy that has swelled since Sunday, when the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, kissed striker Jenni Hermoso on the mouth in Sydney after the world crown of the Spanish players.
“A totally spontaneous mutual gesture”, assures Jenni Hermoso
Luis Rubiales apologized in a video posted on social media on Monday, saying it was an act “without any bad intention, without any bad faith”. But Pedro Sanchez considered that “the apologies that Luis Rubiales has given are not sufficient”. “I even think that they are inappropriate and that he must therefore go further,” added the head of government, whose country is considered a pioneer in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence.
To a journalist who asked him if he was calling for the resignation of Luis Rubiales, Pedro Sanchez simply replied that the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) was not a body dependent on the government.
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Footage shot on the podium at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Sunday showed Luis Rubiales kissing the player on the mouth, taking her head between his two hands. Taken up by Spanish media, they spread like wildfire on social networks, sparking numerous criticisms of Mr. Rubiales. “I didn’t like it, huh! “Reacted the Spanish N.10 in the locker room during a live broadcast on Instagram, before smiling at the goal.
She later explained, in statements sent to the press by the federation, that it was “a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that comes from winning a World Cup”. “The president and I have a great relationship, his behavior with all of us was perfect and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude,” added Jennifer Hermoso.Women’s World Cup: historic first title for Spain
“It’s a spontaneous celebration, which manifests itself in this way. The two are very close friends,” a source within the federation told AFP. But since then, several ministers of the Spanish leftist government, including Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz, number three in the government, have called for the resignation of Mr. Rubiales, citing a clear and actionable gesture.
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