The behavior of the Spanish association boss Luis Rubiales in the kiss scandal at the women’s football World Cup is still a case for the courts in his home country. The National Administrative Court for Sport (TAD) on Friday approved an investigation into the 46-year-old, the AFP news agency reports, citing sources close to the case.
However, the TAD only classified the Rubiales case as “serious misconduct” and not as “very serious misconduct” as desired by the Spanish government. Had the TAD followed the government’s request, the National Sports Council could have banned Rubiales for the duration of the trial. According to Sports Minister Miquel Iceta, courts will now urge a temporary ban. Most recently, the world governing body FIFA had provisionally suspended Rubiales for 90 days.
The government had provided the court with further documents and formally filed a complaint against Rubiales for his conduct. The complaints relate to “abuse of office” and “acts that undermine the dignity and decency of sport”. Rubiales kissed world champion Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth at the award ceremony.