Luis Rubiales has seen his mum Angeles Bejar start a hunger strike in protest of the “inhuman witch-hunt” of her son.
The Spanish FA president, 46, revealed that the kiss was “consensual” despite the player insisting she never consented to a kiss on the lips.
Luis Rubiales, in a press conference, adamantly refused to resign from his position as the Spanish chief and threatened legal action against Hermoso for defamation.
The federation has seen resignations recently, with Spanish women’s head coach Jorge Vilda’s entire coaching staff announcing their departures over the weekend until the matter is settled.
FIFA, on the other hand has provisionally suspended Luis Rubiales for 90 days, which has pushed his mum to go on hunger strike.
Reports also have it that the retired hairdresser began her protest at the Divina Pastora de Motril church in the Andalucia coastal resort.
This is located at the Motril east of Malaga where the suspended Spanish FA president, Luis Rubiales, grew up.
Rubiales’ mum, Angeles, whose husband is a former mayor of Motril has vowed to continue her action until her son receives “justice.”
The mother also demanded Jenni Hermoso to tell the “truth” about the kiss that led to Rubiales’ provisional suspension by FIFA.
Luis Rubiales
Luis Manuel Rubiales Béjar is a Spanish football official and former professional player who was born on 23rd August, 1977 and played as a defender, appearing in 53 La Liga matches over three seasons.
Rubiales is the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and one of UEFA’s vice presidents.
FIFA suspended him from his post in the wake of footballer Jennifer Hermoso stating that she did not consent to a public kiss from Rubiales during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final award ceremony.
Spain’s Kiss-Gate At The Women’s World Cup
Spain’s tournament build-up was marred with unrest as players revolted, but despite winning the tournament for the first time, they faced negative attention because of the actions of the man at the top of their federation.
Following Luis Rubiales grabbing his crotch in celebration while standing near Spain’s Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter, he still displayed unacceptable behavior at the podium.
As he was greeting the Spanish team for their maiden World Cup win, he grabbed Jenni Hermoso by the head before forcibly planting a kiss on her lips, with millions of eyes watching.
As Hermoso walked past, he continued his kissing frenzy with her other teammates on the cheek and hugged every one of them.
He later informed them that they must visit Ibiza, as that would be where he would marry Hermoso as they celebrated their World Cup triumph.
Hermoso addressed the issue while speaking during a live Instagram session and said: “I did not enjoy it.”
She also went on to add that: “It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that winning a World Cup brings.”
“The president and I have a great relationship, his behavior with all of us has been outstanding and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.”
The country’s politicians said it was a “form of sexual violence” that cannot be “normalized”.
