Luis Rubiales, former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), has responded to various questions posed by the parties in the framework of the investigation into his behavior during and after the 2023 Women’s World Cup for his kiss to the player Jenni Hermoso. His statements have addressed issues such as his relationship with the players, crisis management at the RFEF and the allegations against him.
KISS TO JENNI HERMOSO AND REACTIONS
Regarding the controversy over the kiss to Jenni Hermoso at the title celebration, Rubiales insisted that “it was in an affectionate way. She had no rejection. She left laughing and patted me on the sides. I never did it to fulfill a sexual desire”. He also denied that Hermoso made any reproach to him afterwards and pointed out that they only had “another mini-conversation in the field”.
As for the statement issued from the national team bus, Rubiales stated that “Jenni made a statement based on the Cope’s statements. She gave the OK. I said go ahead. It was my idea to make the statement.
REQUEST FOR VILDA’S DISMISSAL
The former RFEF president confirmed that, months before the World Cup, he received a request from Irene Paredes and Alexia Putellas to fire Jorge Vilda, as “his message was not getting through”. Rubiales stated that he rejected the request and that they warned him that “there would be consequences”. He also stressed that Hermoso tried to mediate the situation.
MEDIA CRISIS
On the crisis management after the kissing scandal, Rubiales assured that he did not detect the magnitude of the problem until receiving messages from his daughters. “When I wake up on the plane, the first thing I do is talk to my daughters and they show me messages,” he explained. In the meeting that followed, he rejected the idea of resigning and denied having had any influence on the August 26 statement, claiming that he had already been disqualified by FIFA.
RELATIONSHIP WITH JORGE VILDA AND PLAYERS
When asked about a possible instruction to Jorge Vilda to talk to Hermoso’s brother, Rubiales replied: “No. Nor did I tell him that I insinuated that he put pressure on his brother. I met Jenni’s friend (Victoriano) on the plane. He came to the front. He thanked us for the deal.” He also denied talking to more players on the flight back to Spain.
INCIDENTS DURING THE WORLD CUP
Rubiales confirmed that there was an altercation with goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez after a technical decision by Jorge Vilda. According to his version, “there was a tremendous problem with Vilda when he left Misa on the bench. She left the room in a tremendous rage. She punched, it was tremendous. It was irreconcilable. However, he denied having seen Ivana crying on the plane back to Spain and assured that she did not make any reproach when she arrived in the country.
RFEF HARASSMENT PROTOCOL
Rubiales indicated that the RFEF’s harassment protocol was drafted quickly due to pressure from the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD) and that it was scheduled to be updated after the World Cup. He assured that he did not know if the communiqué was published on the RFEF website. He also mentioned that his lawyer in the process with FIFA is Mr. Ripoll.
POSITION ON THE ACCUSATIONS
Finally, Rubiales affirmed that the player Hermoso “knows that I asked her before giving her the kiss” and acknowledged that “on that stage she should have been more cold-blooded and should have been in a more institutional level”.
The case is still under investigation, and new statements and evidence are expected in the coming weeks.
