The Spanish government cannot fire Rubiales but has strongly denounced his actions and said on Friday it was seeking to get him suspended using a legal procedure before a sports tribunal.
“Impunity for macho actions is over. Rubiales cannot continue in office,” acting Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz wrote on social media on Friday.
Gender issues have become a prominent topic in Spain in recent years. Tens of thousands of women have taken part in street marches protesting against sexual abuse and violence, and the Socialist-led coalition government has presided over legal reforms including around equal pay or abortion rights.
PLAYERS’ REVOLT
It was not clear how the FIFA action would affect a players’ revolt against Rubiales that expanded to include coaching staff on Saturday.
In a joint statement sent via their FUTPRO union on Friday evening, all 23 of Spain’s cup-winning squad including Hermoso, as well as dozens of other squad members, said they would not play internationals while Rubiales remained head of the federation.
In the same statement, Hermoso denied Rubiales’ contention that the kiss was consensual, writing: “I want to clarify that, as was seen in the images, at no time did I consent to the kiss he gave me and, of course, in no case did I seek to lift the president.”
Read More: Spanish PM slams Rubiales’ apology over controversial kiss
On Saturday evening, Vilda said in a statement to the Spanish news agency EFE: “I am deeply sorry that the victory of Spanish women’s football team has been harmed by the inappropriate behavior that our until now top manager, Luis Rubiales.”
Earlier on Saturday, 11 members of the national women’s team’s coaching staff offered their resignations to the RFEF in a statement where they supported Hermoso and condemned Rubiales.
They complained of “the discomfort” of having been required to attend the federation assembly on Friday and said “several female members of the technical staff were forced to sit in the front row … to create the impression that they shared the RFEF president’s line”.
The RFEF statement early on Saturday was accompanied by four photos of the event last Sunday that it said illustrated Rubiales’ contention that Hermoso had lifted him in the air before the kiss.
Reuters could not immediately reach an official from FUTPRO for comment.
At the federation’s emergency meeting on Friday, Rubiales repeatedly said he would not quit and complained that “false feminists” were “trying to kill me”, drawing applause for the predominantly male audience.
Luis de La Fuente, the men’s national team manager who could be seen applauding Rubiales on Friday, issued a statement on Saturday condemning “the actions of Luis Rubiales that did not respect the minimum protocol for such (World Cup) celebrations and are not constructive nor appropriate for someone representing all of Spanish soccer”.
