President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales continues to come under heavy political pressure to leave his position, as the situation continues to escalate following his decision to kiss Jenni Hermoso without consent.
Rubiales grabbed Hermoso during their World Cup victory celebrations and kissed her on the lips. After the incident, Hermoso was seen on a live stream saying she ‘did not like it’.
Both came out publicly to arrest importance from the incident, with Rubiales called it ‘idiocy’, while Hermoso asked people not to second guess it.
However international and domestic outrage have ensued, with various politicians asking for Rubiales to explain himself or to resign. He did the former on Monday afternoon, apologising, although also admitting he did think it was that bad.
Now Spanish Vice-President Yolanda Diaz has joined those demanding that Rubiales resign.
“We continue to call for the resignation of Rubiales, who has harassed and assaulted a woman. Your excuses are worth nothing.”
However Diaz did not want to focus purely on Rubiales, and had praise for the players themselves, as Relevo recount.
“They have shown us many things about equality, not only in sports and football. They have shown us that there is still a lot to do in our country, that there is still a lot to do so that men and women can become equal. (The players) are victims of singularly retributive discrimination.”
As political pressure continues to grow, it remains to be seen how much longer Rubiales can hold on. So far he has shown remarkable staying power since being in the position, riding out a number of scandals and damaging reports, including the leak of his messages with Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos last year. Yet the fact he was absent from Spain’s public celebrations shows that he is aware of the climate around him.
