Royal Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales has resigned following fierce criticism for kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips at the FIFA Women’s World Cup victory ceremony.
The already suspended Rubiales sent his resignation to the federation’s interim president, he said in an open letter.
“I’m going to [resign], yes, because I cannot continue my work,” the 46-year-old told television show Piers Morgan Uncensored.
Photo: AP
“[Family and friends] say to me: ‘Luis, you need to focus on your dignity and continue your life. If not you are going to damage people you love and the sport you love,’” he said.
Rubiales sparked a worldwide backlash after forcibly kissing midfielder Hermoso during the medal ceremony following Spain’s World Cup triumph in Sydney on Aug. 20.
After he refused to resign, FIFA provisionally suspended him for 90 days, while Spanish public prosecutors filed a lawsuit against him for alleged sexual assault and coercion.
Hermoso, 33, on Tuesday last week filed a complaint at the Spanish National Court, formally accusing Rubiales of sexual assault.
In an open letter published by Rubiales on Sunday night, he said that he had informed the federation he was also stepping down as a vice president of UEFA.
“After the swift suspension carried out by FIFA, plus the rest of the procedures opened against me, it is evident that I will not be able to return to my position,” Rubiales said in the letter.
“Insisting on waiting and clinging to it is not going to contribute to anything positive, neither for the federation nor for Spanish football,” he added.
Rubiales, who insists the kiss was consensual, said he did not want Spanish soccer to be hurt by “such a disproportionate campaign” against him.
“I have faith in the truth and I will do everything in my power so that it prevails,” he wrote.
As the pressure ramped up in recent weeks on him to quit, Rubiales’ mother Angeles Bejar went on a hunger strike in protest, locking herself in a church.
Some Spanish politicians hailed Rubiales’ downfall.
“We are with you, Jenni, and with all women,” Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Spanish Minister of Equality Irene Montero wrote “It’s Over” on X, a slogan used by Hermoso and her teammates in protest against Rubiales.
BASEBALL LEGEND: Sadaharu Oh, who flew against his doctor’s advice to throw the first pitch at the Taipei Dome, said he had high expectations for baseball in Taiwan Taiwan yesterday defeated South Korea 4-0 in the opening game of the Asian Baseball Championship in front of a crowd of more than 16,000 at the newly opened Taipei Dome. The team was led by a starting pitcher Hsu Ruo-hsi, who in a dominant performance recroded 10 strikeouts and allowed only two hits in seven scoreless innings on the mound. Eighteen-year-old Sun I-lei came to close out the final two innings, ensuring that Taiwan hung on to their four-run lead, after scoring three runs in the third inning and another in the fourth. The eight-day championship is to take place
NIGHT OF FIRSTS: In the first official game at the Tapei Dome on Sunday, not only did Taiwan notch a win over South Korea, they also recorded the stadium’s first hit and RBI The Philippines yesterday dominated Thailand 14-4 at the Taipei Dome in the opening game of Group B on the second day of the Asian Baseball Championship, while Palestine pipped Hong Kong 3-1 in Taichung in Group A. World No. 35 the Philippines put themselves on the board early, racking up two runs in the first inning, followed by two in the third, one each in the fourth and fifth, and three in the sixth. Thailand, ranked 43rd in the world, did not get on the board until the top of the seventh inning, when they tried to stage a comeback, putting up
TROUNCED: Taiwan beat Palestine in six innnings on day three of the Asia Baseball Championship, while it took just five innings for Japan to defeat Thailand Taiwan yesterday beat Palestine 19-0 at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium on the third day of the Asian Baseball Championship. The Group A game was over in six innings after a 6:03pm start. Taiwan went on the offensive from the first inning, scoring three runs, but the real damage was done in the third inning, when they scored seven. The Palestine players are all studying or working in the US. In another duel between two unevenly matched teams, Japan thrashed Thailand 16-0 in their late Group B game at the Taipei Dome. They won in five innings thanks to the mercy rule, which states
NATIONS LEAGUE: England crushed Scotland 6-0, but their Olympic hopes were ruined when the Netherlands beat them on goal difference with a 4-0 win against Belgium Germany and the Netherlands on Tuesday booked their places at the UEFA Women’s Nations League finals , where they are also to fight for spots at next year’s Paris Games, but there was heartbreak for England whose hopes of competing in the Olympics were dashed, despite beating Scotland 6-0. Germany drew 0-0 in Wales, but secured their passage thanks to Iceland’s 1-0 win over Denmark. The Netherlands needed a 95th-minute goal from Damaris Egurrola to see them to a 4-0 win over Belgium which meant they edged England on goal difference in Group A1 after the FIFA Women’s World Cup runners-up hammered