Spanish Prosecutors Open Inquiry Into Soccer Official Who Kissed Player

Spanish prosecutors mentioned on Monday that they’d opened an investigation into whether or not Luis Rubiales, the president of the nation’s soccer federation, may very well be charged with committing an act of sexual aggression after he kissed one of many feminine group’s gamers on the lips once they gained the World Cup this month.

Opposition has steadily grown in response to Mr. Rubiales’s conduct and his strident protection of it, and the group he heads, recognized formally as Royal Spanish Football Federation, has discovered itself underneath growing strain to take motion. The group was assembly later Monday to debate the difficulty.

Mr. Rubiales was proven on video after the World Cup last in Sydney on Aug. 20 kissing one of many group’s star gamers, Jennifer Hermoso, and though he apologized the day after, he then took a defiant stand later within the week.

He mentioned Ms. Hermoso had lifted him off his toes and “moved me close to her body,” accusing his critics of “false feminism” and saying he was the sufferer of “social assassination.” Ms. Hermoso countered in a press release, “At no time did I consent to the kiss that he gave me.”

The Spanish group has just lately discovered success on the highest ranges of ladies’s soccer, after reaching the Women’s World Cup for the primary time in 2015, however the occasions involving Mr. Rubiales had been a reminder that this system has been affected by sexism and different scandals.

Mr. Rubiales is a vp of UEFA, soccer’s governing physique in Europe, and has been main the joint bid by Spain, Portugal, Morocco and presumably Ukraine to host the 2030 World Cup. FIFA, soccer’s world governing physique, had already suspended him from the game for 90 days. The total feminine group and dozens of different gamers signed a joint assertion saying they might not take the sector to play for Spain “if the current managers continue.”

Criticism of Mr. Rubiales has come from the federal government, too. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described his conduct as “unacceptable,” and the secretary of the opposition People’s Party, Cuca Gamarra, known as the kiss “shameful.”

Players from around the globe confirmed their help for Ms. Hermoso, usually utilizing the hashtag “se acabó,” or “it’s over,” after a social media publish by Alexia Putellas, a member of the Spanish nationwide group.