Luis Rubiales (Las Palmas, 1977) lives the most difficult days in his five years as president of the Spanish Football Federation (FEF). The boss of Spanish football is between a rock and a hard place after Pedro Sánchez, acting president of the Government, dropped that the leader must resign after the “unacceptable” kiss to Jenni Hermoso during the celebration of Spain’s victory in the Women’s Soccer World Cup. “Apologies are not enough. He has to continue taking steps to clarify what we all saw,” said the socialist leader hours after receiving the team and seeing their faces with Rubiales, who remained in the background or third place during the reception in Moncloa. “These behaviors show that in our country there is still a long way to go in terms of equality and respect, and in the equalization of rights between women and men,” he added.
The embarrassing attitude of the president of the FEF has shaken the political scene. In the Government they would be analyzing the feasibility of transferring to the Administrative Court of Sport (TAD), the highest institutional authority in sports matters, a reasoned brief urging it to open a disciplinary file. If that happened, and the TAD initiates a file, the Higher Sports Council (CSD) would immediately convene its board of directors to order the provisional suspension of Rubiales, as was done with Ángel María Villar (president between 1988 and 2017) in December 2017. The leader could be disqualified between 2 and 15 years for his improper conduct, according to the same media. which cites articles 104 and 108 of the new sports law. Pedro Sánchez cannot directly remove Rubiales.
The ball is getting bigger and bigger. To the public reproach, to the declarations of several jurists that what he did constitutes a crime of sexual assault and to the blush caused by the international press, a series of complaints is added: one by Sumar before the Higher Sports Council, another by the affiliate of the federation Miguel Ángel Galán and one from Estrada Fernández, former First Division referee before the federation.
The CSD has more pressure than ever to fully enter into this matter after the wave of criticism against Rubiales. The president of said organization, Víctor Francos, went through the microphones of ‘El Partidazo de Cope’ and ‘El Larguero’ of Cadena Ser, where he assured that if the FEF does not make decisions, they are willing to make them.
The leader is cornered despite managing well in scandals. This controversy leaves his future in a mystery. The president of the Spanish Football Federation will seek the support of the territorial federations this Friday and avoid resignation by calling an Extraordinary General Assembly late on Tuesday. The RFEF assured in a statement that after “the events that occurred” in the final “the federation’s internal proceedings regarding integrity issues are open, as well as the rest of the applicable protocols.”
The man comfortable in conflicts, who knew how to avoid controversy over how he multiplied his annual payroll, spending on corporate cards for a party in a villa in Salobreña, housing aid for the purchase of a luxury penthouse in Madrid or the leaked audios in the mess of the Arabian Super Cup, it seems that his days could be numbered. It should be remembered that Rubiales’ action fully touches gender equality, one of the flags of the Government of Pedro Sánchez.
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