Spain star Jenni Hermoso has publicly attempted to calm the waters, after RFEF President Luis Rubiales kissed her on the lips live on television.
Rubiales greeted Hermoso on the podium, grabbed her head and then kissed her on the lips during the celebrations. Following that incident, Hermoso was seen on camera
Hermoso said while live streaming scenes from the dressing room ‘what am I supposed to do? Eh, but I didn’t like it’.
“The kiss with Jenni? Idiots are everywhere…” Rubiales said on RadioMarca (via Sport), clearly not seeing anything wrong with the incident.
“When two people have a show of affection without any significance, you don’t have to pay attention to idiocy.”
“We are champions and I’ll focus on that.”
Rubiales was widely panned in the international media, but Hermoso herself came out in order to take the sting out of the incident.
“It was a mutual gesture, totally spontaneous due to the immense joy that winning a World Cup brings. The president and I have a great relationship, his behaviour with all of us has been outstanding and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude,” Hermoso told EFE, via Cadena SER.
“People shouldn’t second guess a gesture of friendship and gratitude, we have won a World Cup and we are not going to deviate from what is important.”
In spite of Hermoso’s statements, many have continued to point out that this behaviour is both unusual and inappropriate from Rubiales. It is hard to imagine him doing something similar with the men’s team, and while winning a Nations League cannot be compared to a World Cup, there was certainly nothing of the sort in the aftermath.