Former Spanish football boss, Luis Rubiales has been embroiled in another kissing scandal.
Rubiales was given a three-year ban from football in October after kissing Spanish striker Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent following their victory over the Lionesses.
It has been revealed that Rubiales ‘forcefully kissed’ England defender Lucy Bronze and ‘cupped and stroked’ the face of Laura Coombs after the World Cup final, the chair of the Football Association has claimed.
FIFA has now published their findings into the case against Rubiales, which includes claims from FA chair Debbie Hewitt that he also acted inappropriately towards two England players – making her feel ‘deeply uncomfortable’.
The Spaniard ‘cupped and stroked the face of the English player Laura Coombs’ before ‘he seemingly forcefully kissed Lucy Bronze on her face’, Ms Hewitt claims. He responded by calling her a ‘hypocrite’ and accused her of doing her position as FA chair a ‘disservice’.
The FIFA disciplinary committee found Rubiales had acted with ‘a sense of complete impunity’ at the trophy ceremony after Spain’s 1-0 win over England in Sydney on August 20 and recommended tougher sanctions. He’s previously been banned from the game for three years.
Ms Hewitt stood next to Rubiales on the podium. A summary of her claim says he behaved in an ‘unpleasant and unnecessarily aggressive’ manner towards match stewards before detailing two specific allegations relating to Bronze and Coombs.
The report states that he ‘cupped and stroked the face of the English player Laura Coombs, which [the President of The FA] thought was slightly odd, and then he seemingly forcefully kissed the English player Lucy Bronze on her face.’
Rubiales ‘became more boisterous’ as the Spanish players stepped up, the report states.
‘He was tactile with almost all of them, kissing most on the cheek, and giving some multiple kisses in quick succession and holding them very tightly.
‘He rubbed some on their back, tapped one on her bottom, grabbed some by their arm, lifted several off their feet, and one was hoisted twice. In most cases, [the Respondent] initiated the hugs and physical contact.
‘The hugs were reciprocated but the kisses weren’t. It appeared that some players moved their heads to avoid the kissing. The President of The FA felt deeply uncomfortable and embarrassed.’
Rubiales responded in the report by accusing Hewitt of ‘hypocrisy’ because she had also embraced players. He added that Hewitt’s portrayal of him as ‘some sort of creep is absolutely disgusting.’
He argues that the reason he had touched the face of Coombs is because she had been injured in the final and required stitches.
Coombs, however, did not play in the final. Alex Greenwood did require stitches after suffering a head injury.
Rubiales response states: ‘It is astonishing to read the amount of prejudice that Ms. Hewitt showed against [the Respondent] which took her, without knowing what he was saying in response, to decide that he was being aggressive.
‘Without providing any evidence. The Respondent feels the need to point out that Ms. Hewitt, hugged several players even after clearly noticing that they were extending their hands to receive a handshake, which applying the same logic she used, could be understood as a forceful non consensual physical contact, or even when greeting the referees, it can be seen Ms. Hewitt touching all of them in their arms, while (the Respondent] limited his interaction to a plain handshake. The hypocrisy is blatant.
‘The Respondent reads the words of the President of The FA with absolute dismay.
The way she presents a gentle gesture of comfort to all the rivals in the final of the WWC, suggesting that [the Respondent] is some sort of creep is absolutely disgusting.
‘Also, she either purposely or negligently decides to obviate some of crucial facts, first Ms. Coombs was injured during the final, had to receive stitches, and was wearing a bandage in her head, reason why [the Respondent] tried to comfort her, and second Ms. Bronze not only plays in Spain, but she was also a super champions in Spain just few months before in which celebration Mr. Rubiales obviously participated.
‘This conduct was not denounced when on June 18, 2023, he hugged Mr Luka Modric after the final, precisely for the same reasons he hugged Ms Bronze.
‘In relation to the Kiss, Ms Hewitt blatantly lies or at least, speaks from ignorance. The evidence presented in this procedure, but also before Spanish courts and reported by the media, confirm that there was an exchanged during which [the Respondent] asked and [the Player] consented.
‘The last paragraphs of her statement are straight forward incomprehensible. First she gives her opinion about the incident in the stands, which she did not witness, or knew about, until reported by the media. Second she misquotes [the Respondent], and proceeds to give her opinion about what happened one week after the final, which, as far as [the Respondent is] concerned, Ms Hewitt is in no position in this procedure to do, and then moves to affirm that [the Respondent] blamed the Player.
‘At no point did [the Respondent] blame the Player, all the explanations of [the Respondent] have been consistent since the very first day, and at no point has he blamed the Player.’
Bronze has previously condemned Rubiales’ behaviour towards Hermoso, but is not believed to have so far commented on any suggestion that Rubiales kissed her on the lips too.
In the written grounds of its decision to ban Rubiales for three years, the FIFA disciplinary committee said:
‘It was absolutely and categorically expected of him to maintain and embody the highest levels of professionalism, beyond the usual standards, especially at a moment where his country was at the apex level of women’s football.
‘In this regard, the committee could not stress enough that – regardless of the emotional state he was in during and after the match – [Rubiales’] behaviour was inexcusable and unacceptable, especially considering his high rank within the football ecosystem at the time.’
The committee’s reasons for Rubiales’ three-year ban included:
- The lack of a public apology
- Rubiales’ continued insistence that the Hermoso kiss was consensual, publicly insulting ‘all those who saw this incident differently’ as ‘idiots and stupid people’
- The publication of a statement on Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF) platforms in Hermoso’s name which was not written or authorised by her
- Using the RFEF general assembly as a public forum to defend himself and distort the reality of the kiss in his favour
- Pressuring and ’emotionally coercing’ Hermoso on numerous occasions.
