Rubiales has stolen the limelight from soccer players They just won the World Cup. They are “his footballers” and he has attributed the achievements of a generation of footballers who have made history. The image of the kiss with Jenni Hermoso at the awards ceremony after the game reopens the debate on the survival of this type of behavior in football. Would the same have happened if instead of Jenni Hermoso, the soccer player had been a man? Why, for Rubiales, are those who criticize this action “fools”? After the controversy that has concentrated all eyes, the president apologized because “there is no other“.
“It is a kiss without the other person consenting to it and that is part of sexual violence”, says Lucía Avilés, an expert magistrate in gender violence. “It’s an abuse. The fact that they want to downplay it is because we are normalizing different situations. Who gives it, how it is given, where it is given, is key. Rubiales is a person who has a position of power and she is a player who has achieved a milestone in Spanish sport. She is the imposition of conduct from this position of power. It is: ‘I represent football in Spain and you, who are a player, I do this with you'”, argues the judge.
What if, instead of being the women’s team, this World Cup had been won by the men’s team, the same thing would have happened in a “moment of spontaneity?
“If I was a male gamer I wouldn’t have done it.. Because it would represent the opposite and talk about femininity, but in a pejorative sense. No matter how spontaneous and innocent you want to see the gesture, it is not. The context, or knowing who each one is, gives us a lot of information,” stresses Avilés, who reiterates that the fact that Rubiales holds a position of power and is allowed these actions creates a dangerous precedent. A behavior to imitate.
The case, under study
The key to the case is consent. The position that Hermoso adopts before the facts will be decisive so that the case can have a course or not in the judicial estates or so that the protocols can be activated. In it Protocol of Action against Sexual Violence of the Federation includes “kissing by force” as a situation, attitudes and behaviors with sexual violence in the physical contact section. Thus, the unions are studying the case, advising and accompanying the soccer player after what happened.
“In the end it is abusing a body, you are objectifying it. It is the culture of rape, here at a lower intensity. The normalization of different circumstances makes the objectification of women’s bodies normalize. Why does this man have to be the protagonist?” reflects Avilés. Jenni Beautiful, after the facts, it was pronounced. Through a direct on Instagram, the Madrid woman commented on the moment and expressed herself: “Hey, I didn’t like it. But what do I do? Look at me, look at me!“. Hours later, when the controversy outraged social networks, the forward continued to recount what happened, although she wanted to reduce the tension. “It has been a mutual gesture, totally spontaneous for the immense joy of winning a World Cup. He press and I have a great relationship his behavior with all of us has been ten and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude”, he said in statements provided by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
Rubiales is justified
Seeing the commotion on social networks, the president of the federation wanted settle the controversy. “We are facing a historic event. Before a World Cup. For this we have been working for a long time in the Federation. But also there is a fact that I regret between me and a player, with whom I have a wonderful relationship, as with others. Surely I was wrong, I have to admit it. in a moment of maximum effusivity and without any bad faith, what happened happened. In a spontaneous way without bad faith on either side“He said through a video broadcast on the Federation’s social networks. “I have to apologize, there is no other”he recognized.
Radio moment to forget. When the gathering of @tjcope He had turned the other way and some had put Rubiales in his place, Manolo Lama arrives, the maximum brother-in-law. He will leave it here. It’s not worth his opinion. Look at the face of Juanma Castaño. pic.twitter.com/QRv6Rb5Tqz
— Victor Ayora (@victorayora) August 20, 2023
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Beyond the facts, already deplorable in themselves, the post-final statements on Cadena Cope are clear proof of Rubiales’ thinking about what happened. “let’s ignore the idiots And from the stupid, really”, the president of the Federation defended himself between laughs on Sunday. “It is a peak of two friends celebrating something … We are not for bullshit. Me, with everything I’ve been through, more bullshit and more assholes… No. Let’s ignore it and Let’s enjoy the good and don’t even tell me things about losers who don’t know how to see the positive… It is a thing without evil. If there are fools, let them continue with their nonsense. There are more fools than windows. We are going to pay attention to those who are not stupid… It is something without evil and nonsense, if people want to waste time on it…”, explained the president of the Federation on Cadena Cope. He later apologized for such statements.
Rubiales, in his video, demanded that the entire country focus on celebrate with their footballers the World Cup achieved and leave the problem behind. “I am sorry that, in the greatest success in our history in women’s football and in general, this has somewhat tarnished the celebration. Credit must be given to these women and to the team led by Jorge Vilda. You have to celebrate it in style,” she concluded.