Luis Rubiales is stepping down as president of the Royal Spanish Football Association.
Rubiales led the Spanish women’s national team to victory at the World Cup on August 20, but faced backlash after she kissed one of the team’s players after the win.
As the team celebrated its first World Cup win, Rubiales, 45, kissed veteran Jenni Hermoso on the lips. Other videos show him kissing several other players on the face during a team celebration. He later grabbed his crotch while standing in the crowd watching the game.
In an Instagram video taken in the locker room after the game, Hermoso, 33, said, “I didn’t like it,” apparently in response to her coach’s show of affection, the BBC reported.
In a sitting position interview with Piers Morgan that aired Sunday, Rubiales confirmed he is stepping down from his role with the athletics organization. “As for my resignation, yes, I will.”
He said of the situation he is facing: “I can’t continue my job.”
Rubiales also described some of the conversations he’s had with his family and close friends in recent weeks.
“My father, my daughters, I talked to them. It’s not — they know — it’s not a question about me,” he told Morgan. “And some friends, very close to me, tell me, ‘Luis, now you have to focus on your dignity and move on with your life. Because if you don’t, you’re probably going to damage the people you love and the sport you love.'”
He said he had to think beyond himself after the incident, adding that he “had to support a lot” in the past three weeks.
“This is… in this situation now, smarter and what I have to do.”
On Sunday, Rubiales shared a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, announcing that as of 9:30 p.m. local time, he has officially relinquished his title as president of the organization.
“I have faith in the truth and will do everything in my power to make it prevail,” he wrote in the bold part of the statement.
Rubiales also said his daughters, family and loved ones “suffered the consequences of excessive persecution” after the World Cup final, but stressed that “on the street, more and more every day, the truth prevails.”
He concluded the statement by thanking those who “supported” him in the last few weeks.
Luis Rubiales kisses a player’s face after Spain’s World Cup win.
Richard Callis / SPP/Sipa USA via AP
Spanish Football Federation fires head coach, apologizes for Luis Rubiales’ “inappropriate behavior”.
Days after winning the World Cup, FIFA suspended Rubiales for 90 days for the unwanted kiss.
In a statement, FIFA said the ban would bar him from “all football-related activities at national and international level”.
He was also told “to refrain, through himself or third parties, from contacting or attempting to contact the professional player of the Spanish national soccer team, Ms. Jennifer Hermoso, or her close circle.”
The suspension was the first step, and the statement said that “disciplinary proceedings” had been opened to investigate the incident.
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Luis Rubiales celebrates Spain’s victory at the World Cup.
Alex Pantling – FIFA/FIFA via Getty
Despite the backlash, Rubiales was persistent in defending his actions.
The New York Times was reported to have described himself as a victim of “social murder” and “fake feminism” during a press conference on August 25. He also insisted the kiss was “mutual and with the consent” of the midfielder, USA Today reported.
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After Rubiales’ public defense of her actions, Hermoso issued her own statement. “I was simply disrespected,” she wrote. “I felt vulnerable and the victim of an impulsive, sexist, inappropriate act without any consent on my part.”
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