2023-08-22 18:50:31
by Monica Ricci Sargentini
The controversy over the gesture of the president of the Football Federation during the award ceremony of the Women’s World Cup continues. The Popular Party is also calling for his resignation
For the champions of the Women’s World Cup on the day of the audience at the Moncloa palace and the announcement of the awarding of the gold medal of sporting merit by Spain to all the members of the team in honor of Sunday’s 1-0 victory in the final against England in Sydney, Australia.
Despite the satisfaction with the title conquered, the outgoing prime minister Pedro Snchez returned to yesterday’s controversy after the kiss on the lips imposed by the president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales on midfielder Jenni Hermoso during the awards ceremony in Sydney. What we saw was an unacceptable gesture. I also think Rubiales’ apology is insufficient. And I also think they are inappropriate and that it should go further, added the prime minister, whose government has passed strict laws on sexual consent and harassment. The president of the Football Federation accompanied the team and staff to the meeting with the socialist leader, who greeted him with a handshake.
The Spanish People’s Party, winner of the July elections but without the numbers to govern, also agrees with the resignation of the leader. The secretary of the PP, Cuca Gamarra, described the president’s behavior as shameful. There must be consequences – she said – an entire country is indignant at what happened.
The premier explained to the players that theirs is a symbolic victory that marks a point of no return: You have achieved something very important. Girls who watch see football as a place where they can develop athletically and personally, he said as he posed for a group photo with the women’s Roja. This will be the century of women on all fronts and that of achieving true equality between the two sexes.
When Snchez took office in June 2018, he appointed a government with a record number of 11 women out of 17 ministers. .
Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Rubiales, on the return journey from Sydney, allegedly pressured Hermoso to appear with him in the apology video he recorded shortly after, during the stopover in Doha. The invitation that the world champion would have rejected to the sender, despite the good relations between her family and Rubiales and the strong pressure of many federal leaders and a large part of the delegation. This was written by the information site Relevo, quoted by El Pais. According to the same sources, after the first refusal, coach Jorge Vilda also tried to convince the player to change her mind. After undergoing the kiss worldwide, the athlete had confided in her teammates that she didn’t like her kiss, only to then have to change the version in the statement released by the Federation. Pressures that add violence to violence.
Yesterday Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz said Rubiales harassed and assaulted a woman and called for her resignation. While the minister for equality Irene Montero spoke, without ifs and buts, of sexual violence. Under current law the unsolicited kiss, during which Rubiales grabbed Hermoso’s face before kissing her on the mouth, could potentially be prosecuted as a felony. Soon after Spain’s win, Rubiales also grabbed his groin in victory. This happened with 16-year-old Princess Infanta Sofa and Queen Letizia of Spain who were nearby.
The Spanish Superior Council of Sport is examining a formal complaint against the head of the Football Federation filed by the president of Spain’s national school for football coaches, Miguel Galan.
Rubiales, 45, a former player elected to lead the national football federation in 2018. Since then, he has renewed the Spanish Super Cup, bringing it to Saudi Arabia. A move criticized by human rights groups. His mandate expires next year.
Meanwhile, today the King of Spain Felipe VI closed the first round of consultations for the formation of the new government by receiving the leader of the Popular Party Alberto Nez Feijo at the Zarzuela Palace. After the support received from Vox, which however placed conditions on the Populars, and after the support expressed yesterday by Coalicion canaria and Union del pueblo navarro, Feijo presents himself to the king with 172 votes in favour, or four less than the majority absolute in the Congress of Deputies. The People’s Party has so far reiterated its willingness to present itself for the investiture should the king choose Feijo as a candidate for the formation of the government, even if it does not appear to have sufficient numbers to gain trust.
August 22, 2023 (change August 22, 2023 | 18:50)
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