Despite Efforts in Women's Soccer, Fallen Due to Sexual Misconduct... The Contradiction of the Spanish Football Federation President

Expected to Submit Resignation Amid Sexual Misconduct Controversy
Figure Actively Advocating for Improved Women's Soccer Conditions
However, Not Always Seen as Supporting the Players

The resignation of Luis Rubiales (45), president of the Spanish Football Federation, who forcibly kissed a player from his own country during the award ceremony after winning the 2023 FIFA Australia-New Zealand Women's World Cup, is imminent.

Expected to submit resignation amid 'forced kiss' controversy

Luis Rubiales (45), President of the Spanish Football Association.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 24th (Korean time), major foreign media such as ESPN reported that Rubiales is expected to submit his resignation to the federation on the 25th.

Immediately after winning the 2023 Women's World Cup, Rubiales went up to the podium to share the joy of victory with the players, forcibly grabbed the face of Spain's own Jennifer Hermoso, and kissed her, drawing fierce criticism.

Later, Hermoso expressed discomfort during a social media (SNS) live broadcast from the locker room, saying, "I did not feel good," which intensified the controversy.

Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Football Federation, forcibly kisses a female soccer player at an awards ceremony.
[Photo by rtve broadcast screen capture]

The New York Times (NYT) strongly criticized the incident, saying, "It broadcast live to the whole world that gender discrimination still remains in the football world," and the Spanish Prime Minister, ministers, the Spanish women's football league, and the players' association demanded his resignation.

Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International joined in, and even FIFA announced disciplinary measures.

Spain football, which should have enjoyed the historic first World Cup victory achieved by the women's national team, was tarnished by Rubiales' sexual misconduct.

Actively worked to improve conditions for Spanish women's national team players, but also made controversial decisions

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, paradoxically, Rubiales was known as a key figure who actively worked to improve the poor treatment of Spanish women's national team players.

On June 15 last year, Rubiales signed an agreement to provide women players with prize money for major tournaments such as the World Cup and the European Championship at levels equal to those of male players until 2027.

When he took office in 2018, he expressed his ambition to "create a federation for everyone," and when announcing this agreement, he said, "We must promote women's sports and strive to narrow the gap with men's sports."

In fact, it was Rubiales who tripled the budget for women's football to 406 million euros (about 580.4 billion KRW) last year compared to the previous year, and introduced a minimum wage system in the country's top league.

Jorge Vilda, head coach of the Spain women's national football team, placed his hand on the chest of a female coach.
[Photo by rtve broadcast screen capture]

However, Rubiales was not always on the side of the players.

In September last year, 15 key Spanish players expressed their intention to 'boycott' due to the current Spanish women's football national team coach Jorge Vilda's abusive language and harsh coaching style.

Despite the players' opposition, Rubiales showed firm trust in Coach Vilda to remain in his position. The Spanish Football Federation ignored the players' demands, stating, "Players should not question the continuity of the national team coaching staff," and "Such behavior goes against the values football pursues." With the federation's support, Coach Vilda eventually excluded 12 players from the national team.

Also, like Rubiales, Coach Vilda hugged the coaching staff right after winning the Women's World Cup and placed his hand on a female coach's chest, an act that was also captured live on broadcast worldwide.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.