Outgoing Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Tuesday called the Spanish Football Federation president’s forced kiss on a player after the women’s national team won the World Cup final as an “unacceptable gesture”. his “inadequate” apology.
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• Also read: “I didn’t like it”: The president of the Spanish Football Federation kisses a player on the podium
“What we saw was an unacceptable gesture,” Mr. Sánchez commented during a press conference in Madrid after an audience with King Felipe VI. and urged the President of the Federation to “go further” without giving further details.
It was the outgoing leader’s first comment on the controversy, which has been brewing since Sunday when Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales kissed striker Jenni Hermoso on the mouth after the Spanish Players’ World Cup in Sydney.
Mr Rubiales had apologized in a video posted to social media on Monday, saying it was an act “without bad faith, no bad intentions”.
But Mr. Sánchez considered that “the apologies made by Mr. Rubiales are insufficient”. “I even think it’s inappropriate and that’s why it has to go further,” added the prime minister, whose country is seen as a frontrunner in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence.
Photo: AFP
When asked by a journalist if he was calling for Mr Rubiales’ resignation, Mr Sánchez simply replied that the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) was not a government-dependent body.
Footage captured on the podium at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on Sunday showed Mr Rubiales kissing the player on the mouth and cupping her head between his two hands. They were picked up by the Spanish media, spread like wildfire on social media and triggered numerous criticisms of Mr Rubiales.
“I didn’t like it, hm!” the Spain No.10 reacted in the dressing room during a live broadcast on Instagram, before smiling at the goal.
She later explained in statements from the federation to the press that it was “a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that comes with winning a World Cup”.
“The President and I have a great relationship, his behavior towards all of us was perfect and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude,” added Jennifer Hermoso.
“It’s a spontaneous celebration that manifests in this way. “They are very close friends,” a Federation source told AFP.
But since then, several ministers in Spain’s left-wing government, including Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz, number three in the government, have called for Mr Rubiales’ resignation, citing a clear and actionable gesture.