August 26th 2023.
Jenni Hermoso is standing firm that she did not consent to being kissed by Luis Rubiales during the Women’s World Cup Final medal ceremony. This follows Rubiales' press conference, during which the 46-year-old president of the Spanish Football Federation declared that he was the victim of ‘social murder’ and ‘false feminism’.
In response, Hermoso released a statement saying, “I want to clarify, that at no time did I consent to the kiss. I don’t tolerate that my word is questioned, much less that words are invented that I haven’t said.”
The Spanish players have refused to represent their national team until Rubiales is removed from his role, and they have received a message of support from the Lionesses. In response, the Spanish FA has released a statement accusing Hermoso of encouraging contact from Rubiales during the World Cup medal ceremony, and they have included images they believe show ‘conclusive evidence’ that Rubiales ‘has not lied’.
The statement from the Spanish FA read:
“The Royal Spanish Football Federation has learned of the statement made public by the Futpro union in relation to the intervention of the President of the RFEF, Mr. Luis Rubiales, on the occasion of the Extraordinary Assembly of the RFEF. In the union’s note, it is said to speak on behalf of Mrs. Jennifer Hermoso and some statements by the player are attributed to her that are in quotation marks, implying that they have been pronounced by her.”
The Spanish FA further claimed that they tried to contact Hermoso to clarify the events, but were unsuccessful. They also included four images which they claim provide “conclusive evidence” that Rubiales “has not lied”.
In conclusion, the Spanish FA said that they “regret that after such an extraordinary sporting success as the one that occurred in the Soccer World Championship, it cannot be celebrated as the situation and success deserves for completely non-sports reasons.” They also added that they “respect as it has respected at all times the decisions of the players who want to participate or not with the Spanish team in international matches, although it records that participation in the selection is an obligation of all the federated people if they are called for it.”
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