Luis Rubiales has refused to resign from his position as Spanish FA President, while giving a bizarre speech on Friday morning.
It was widely understood that Rubiales would be stepping down in light of the backlash over his behaviour at the Women's World Cup Final, when he was seen to grab his crotch in the stands before kissing forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips.
However, as media and Spanish football personnel gathered to hear his resignation speech, the 46-year-old chose another route by pinning the blame on others before repeatedly claiming that he is not resigning.
"Jenni was the one who lifted me up,” he said. “I told her to ‘forget about the penalty’ and I said to her ‘a little peck?’ and she said ‘OK’.
"It was a spontaneous kiss. Mutual, euphoric and consensual. That’s the key. A consensual ‘peck’ is enough to get me out of here? I will fight until the end."
Luis Rubiales accuses others in bizarre speech
Rubiales also hit out at what he called "false feminism" and claimed that he had been "socially murdered". Addressing Spain's women's head coach Jorge Vilda, who had also been expected to resign, he said "I invite you to stay with us for the next four years, earning half a million euros a year."
He also repeatedly and loudly stated - "no voy a dimitir" - "I will not resign". His words were applauded by a number of people in the room, including Vilda and men's head coach Luis de la Fuente.
Rubiales and Vilda have been at the centre of disputes with Spain's women's team for a number of years, with a number of players withdrawing from international duty due to alleged poor treatment.
🚨🗣️ Luis Rubiales refuses to resign as president of the Spanish football federation!
🇪🇸 "No voy a dimitir, no voy a dimitir!"
🏴 "I am not going to resign, I am not going to resign!"
(@relevo)
pic.twitter.com/U1aFm8adDM— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) August 25, 2023
Head of La Liga reacts to Rubiales speech
The speech has drawn a stunned response on Friday morning, with Spanish international goalkeeper David De Gea posting 'my ears are bleeding,' alongside a circus emoji.
More damagingly, La Liga President Javier Tebas tweeted a long-winded list of accusations towards Rubiales, saying that people "do not understand what we have to live in dealing with him as president of the RFEF."
He added "misogynistic gestures, the profane expressions, the protocol disaster and the insults of this latest global embarrassment are not a surprise and had obvious antecedents that should have prevented a new victim."
As the outcry over the actions of Rubiales grew louder midweek, Hermoso issued a statement via FUTPRO, which said "My union, FUTPRO, in coordination with my agency, TMJ, are taking care of defending my interests and being the interlocutors on this matter."
"We ask the RFEF to implement the necessary protocols and to ensure the rights of our players and adopt exemplary measures.
"It is essential that our national team is represented by figures that project its values of equality and respect in all areas."
Various journalists have described Rubiales' comments on Friday as "jaw-dropping" and "outright dangerous", with Mirror reporter Colin Millar calling it "one of the most surreal moments in the history of football."
One thing is for sure, he has managed to now 100% take the limelight away from a squad of World Cup winners.
Debo reconocer que ha sido muy difícil explicar qué está pasando con Luis Rubiales durante estos años. Tengo la sensación de que mucha gente, hasta ahora, no comprendía lo que los integrantes de los estamentos del fútbol tenemos que vivir en el trato con él como presidente de la…
— Javier Tebas Medrano (@Tebasjavier) August 25, 2023
