Public sentiment against suspended RFEF President Luis Rubiales continues to swell in Spain, as one of the main squares in central Madrid saw protests against his continued presence as part of the Federation.
Rubiales has been suspended for 90 days by FIFA, while the Ministry for Sport are also taking action to try and suspend Rubiales too. The RFEF regional heads met on Monday evening, and have formally asked for his resignation too.
On Friday there was a small protest at RFEF headquarters in Las Rozas, on the outskirts of Madrid demanding Rubiales’ resignation following his refusal to hand it in following Friday’s General Assembly.
On Monday, more protests were on the cards. Rubiales’ mother has barricaded herself in a church in his hometown of Motril, going on hunger strike until the ‘witchhunt’ of her son is ended. There was also a small protest supporting Rubiales, chanting ‘with you Luis Rubiales’.
This was dwarfed by a large protest in Callao, one of Madrid’s central squares, where several hundreds gathered to demand Rubiales’ resignation. They sported signs saying ‘With you Jenni’, and chanting ‘It’s not a peck, it’s assault’.
On Monday evening protesters gathered in Madrid in order to demand the resignation of suspended RFEF President Luis Rubiales. pic.twitter.com/DBpTBSnnqc
— Football España (@footballespana_) August 29, 2023
Large amounts of purple were on show in feminist support for Hermoso and her teammates, the same colour used on International Women’s Day. Protestors remarked that they were hoping to celebrate the success of the women’s team in the World Cup, but also to support them in their battle against sexism and for feminism.
The Spanish Government have reacted strongly against Rubiales’ behaviour since the World Cup celebrations, pursuing the avenues available to them to suspend him. The overwhelming majority of reaction has seen Rubiales condemned since his stunning declaration that he would not be resigning on Friday.
