The apologies and explanations given this Monday by the President of the Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, for the kiss he gave to Jenni Hermoso during this Sunday’s Women’s World Cup celebrations are not enough for Pedro Sánchez. “It was an unacceptable gesture and Mr Rubiales’ apologies are insufficient; They’re not even eligible. Therefore, you must continue to take steps to clarify what we have seen in the media,” said the Acting Chief Executive at the press conference held in Moncloa this Tuesday to report his meeting with the king on the investiture.
Previously, Sánchez had welcomed the team and seen their faces with Rubiales staying in second or third place during the reception. “The players did everything to win. But there were some behaviors, like that of Mr. Rubiales, which show that in our country there is still a long way to go in terms of equality and respect and equality between women and men,” added the President.
Of the PP, Cuca Gamarra, spokesman for the party in Congress and general secretary, described Rubiales’ attitude as “embarrassing” in a press conference in the House of Commons. “All institutional managers have a duty to be exemplary,” he said, “and exemplary must be respect for women and what we saw in this final was embarrassing in that sense,” he stressed. “At least that’s all I can think of as embarrassment,” he added. On the same stage, the person who had spoken out about Rubiales a day earlier was the acting vice-president of the government and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz. “We continue to call for the resignation of the man who molested and assaulted a woman. “His excuses are useless at all,” he said at a press conference after the deliberations with the king.
Alongside the kiss for Hermoso, hours later some images surfaced of Rubiales appearing in the official box at Sydney Stadium and celebrating Spain’s triumph, putting his hands on his reels.
In his first public reaction, while still in Australia, to the kiss on Hermoso, there was not a trace of self-criticism. Quite the contrary, which further exacerbated the level of censorship in Spain. In the minutes before boarding the plane home, the President was very upset at the reaction that was beginning to reach him. “Let’s ignore the idiots and the stupid. It’s a culmination of two friends celebrating,” he began telling Cadena Cope. “We’re not for nonsense, despite what I’ve been through. We’ll enjoy the good and not even tell me about losers who don’t know how to see the positive. A thing that has no evil… If there are fools, let them carry on with their nonsense. “Let’s not listen to them,” he continued into the microphones.
However, the long flight to Doha, where a technical stop was scheduled for the charter chartered by Iberia for the entire expedition, prompted Rubiales to issue an apology, as criticism continued to mount and there were political leaders calling for his resignation. Then, and only then, Rubiales had to record a video at the airport in the capital of Qatar with some words that Pedro Sánchez considered insufficient this Tuesday. “I have to apologize, there’s no other option, is there?” Rubiales began this Monday. “And beyond that, to learn from that and to understand that as president of such an important institution, you have to be more careful, especially at ceremonies. If I say it sounds idiotic to me, it’s because no one here gave it the slightest bit of importance, but outside they’ve given it. That’s why I would like to apologize to these people, because if it is seen differently from the outside, they certainly have their reasons. Given the biggest achievement in our history in women’s football, and one of the biggest ever, that dampened the celebration a bit,” he said in statements distributed by the association.
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