Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez has lashed out at Luis Rubiales for kissing 2023 Women’s World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso on her lips.
Recall that there was outrage after Luis Rubiales who is the president of Spain’s football federation, decided to kiss Hermoso on the lips after she led Spain to beat England 1-0 in the final of the Women’s World Cup.
After the incident, Hermoso said on Instagram Live that she didn’t like the kiss but she went ahead to defend the FA president by saying it was a “natural gesture of affection”.
On Monday, August 21, Luis Rubiales released a video to tender an apology for the incident and he insisted that he kissed the female footballer with no bad intentions.
“It was without bad intention at a time with a lot of excitement. In the moment, we saw it as natural, but outside a commotion has formed”, he said.
“I have to apologize, learn from this, and understand that when you are president you have to be more careful.”
While on Tuesday, August 22, the Prime minister described the incident as “an unacceptable gesture”.
He added, “Rubiales’ apologies are not enough, I even think they are not adequate. He has to continue taking steps to clarify what we all saw.
“The players did everything to win but Rubiales’ behaviour shows that there is still a long way to go for equality.”
In line with that, Spain’s second deputy prime minister, Yolanda Diaz, urged the FA president to resign over the incident.
She said, “Their excuses are useless. [The Spain squad] have shown us many things about equality, not only in sports and football.
“They have shown us that there is still a lot to do in our country, that there is still a lot to do so that men and women can become equal.”
