It was just after 10:00 pm on Sunday the 20th of August and Spain was about to receive their winners' medals after defeating England 1-0 in one of the more enjoyable finals I've had the fortune to witness.
Given that in the lead-up to the tournament, there was a mutiny where 15 women signed a statement refusing to play for Spain under manager Jorge Vilda citing poor training and a very intimidating environment (among other things), this win was seen as a chance to restore some goodwill, despite the tensions and issues that were bubbling under the surface.
Unfortunately, one moment of absolute madness from RSFF President Luis Rubiales not only proceeded to overshadow the win but unleashed absolute chaos and managed to plunge Spanish Football into an outrageous crisis.
The moment in question was the kiss that Rubiales planted on the lips of Spanish star Jenni Hermoso.
I have to confess that when I first saw this, along with the way Rubiales greeted the team on that platform, I thought he was very exuberant in his delight. If anything, I thought that he'd had too much to drink. I also wasn't 100% comfortable with it because, for a dignitary to behave like that, I found that very troubling. I am NOT excusing what he did, they were my initial thoughts at the time.
Once Hermosa put out the video stating that it wasn't a consensual kiss and that she wasn't remotely happy about it, Rubiales had the most obvious step to take Come out and issue an unconditional apology along the lines of "I got carried away with my excitement and emotions and in that moment behaved in a disrespectful manner towards Jenni. I acknowledge the hurt she suffered and I unreservedly apologise for my behaviour and conduct. I am not proud of my conduct and I will endeavour to improve on this in the future." Now, here's the thing. If he had come out and made a statement along these lines, this story would've been shut down within 48 hours.
Instead, Rubiales chose the most extraordinary thing imaginable and elected to double down on his behaviour.
He sought out Hermosa to confirm that it was a consensual kiss and when she failed to do so, elected to release a statement, containing a FALSE QUOTE attributed to Jenni Hermosa.
I'm no PR Expert but I can tell anyone right now, that was a shocking move. Rubiales just didn't get it at all!
Then footage emerged of him being very exuberant in his celebrations at full-time, even before coming onto the stage where he appeared to grab his crotch in celebration. The damning part of this is he did that in front of Queen Letizia and her 16-yr old daughter Princess Infanta Sofia.
Now, I'm no expert here but that is a CAREER ENDING move right there. If this guy thinks he can behave like a drunken fool in front of the Queen and Princess of Spain, this is evidently a guy who has no shame whatsoever.
While Rubiales did apologise for that incident, the fact it even occurred is a problem in itself. If this is a guy who thinks he can behave like this, that is a problem. To kiss a player on the lips WITHOUT consent is assault.
Then to add to the mayhem, further footage surfaced of the Spanish Coach touching a female staff member inappropriately.
How this links to Rubiales is plain and simple: when the Spanish players mutinied against Vilda, Rubiales stuck by him. When a coach instructs players to keep their doors open at night so he can make sure they're there, that's insanely wrong. When a coach insists on going through players' shopping...that is just downright disturbing.
If Vilda can do all that and not be sacked, it's clear that his behaviour was condoned by Rubiales and judging from Rubiales' behaviour during and after the final, it's clear this is a man who doesn't care much for boundaries.
What has unfolded since has been truly astonishing.
Late last week there were strong rumours that Luis Rubiales was going to resign as President of the RSFF. Given his disgraceful behaviour not to mention his doubling down in defending that conduct, this would've also sorted out some issues but then in an astonishing though unsurprising u-turn, Rubiales fronted up at an emergency general assembly of the RSFF and announced 5 times
I WILL NOT RESIGN!!!
This was Rubiales' Di Caprio moment!
For those who've forgotten, in The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo Di Caprio (playing Jordan Belfort) announced that he wasn't leaving when he was urged to sell up.
Again, this was another abysmal failure by a man who seemingly was so consumed by power and completely incapable of understanding that what he did was wrong. Since that failure to resign, the following has happened in quick succession Jenni Hermoso released a very fantastic statement that covered every main point possible along with reinforcing that she will NOT play for Spain again while Luis Rubiales is in charge of the Federation. This statement, while released by Hermoso, has the full backing and support of OVER 80 players. What this essentially means is that the mutiny which occurred pre-tournament has now gone beyond those 15 players and right now in effect, Spain doesn't have a functional women's national team.
Adding to this was the announcement that all the coaching staff, with the exception of Jorge Vilda, were announcing their resignations in full support of Jenni Hermosa. That's assistant coaches, dietitians, physios and doctors no longer prepared to work for the Spanish team, in protest, not only at Rubiales but quite possibly Vilda as well.
Then we had the absolutely farcical scenes where Rubiales' mother locked herself in a church and declared that she was going on a hunger strike. She locked herself in the church from Monday till Wednesday when she was taken to hospital. Now, I cannot deny that a mother's support is touching, even though her son was horrendously in the wrong but let's be serious here...Rubiales assaulted Hermoso by kissing her without consent. That's assault and that should automatically disqualify him from leading the RSFF.
FIFA then came down suspending Rubiales for 90 days while they conduct their own investigation into what occurred. The top court for Spanish Sport also agreed to open their own case into his conduct although they described the kiss as "not a very serious offence" as opposed to "very serious." That distinction is important as it means the government cannot sack Rubiales. In saying that, FIFA wouldn't have taken too kindly to the government trying to sack Rubiales as they don't welcome political interference in football and the Spanish Federation could have faced suspension if that had occurred.
Two other bizarre moments also unfolded where there were the following rumours 1) That the RSFF were going to SUE Jenni Hermoso for her attacks 2) That if Rubiales were forced out, Spain would retaliate by leaving UEFA Neither of these have gained any traction thus but the fact they even came up in discussion points or statements is extremely ludicrous. This has been the most bizarre fortnight since a World Cup win that any team will ever encounter. Instead of talking about the joy with which Spain played their football and won the tournament, we are instead talking about a man who quite frankly committed assault in front of 75,000 spectators and millions of TV Viewers by kissing Jenni Hermoso without consent. We are talking about a man who is in denial and can see the walls closing in on him but instead of doing the right thing, is trying to hang onto power and prestige. His actions have damaged the reputation of Spanish Football and every day he remains in charge is another reminder of that damaged reputation.
These Spanish women deserve better than what has occurred in the last fortnight and equally deserve all the praise in the world for maintaining their dignity amidst this almighty scandal. They deserve to be properly acknowledged for their football and their win and don't deserve it to be overshadowed in the way it has been. I stand with Jenni Hermoso and I stand with these Spanish players!
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