According to Hewitt, Rubiales “caressed” Laura Coombs’ face and “apparently forcibly kissed” Lucy Bronze on the face.
The president of the English federation (FA), Debbie Hewitt, accused the former president of the Spanish federation Luis Rubiales of “inappropriate” conduct with English players at the trophy ceremony of the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Hewitt spoke as a witness in the FIFA disciplinary case against Rubiales for his attitude during the World Cup final between Spain and England in which, in addition to making obscene gestures during the match, he kissed Jenni Hermoso, a player from Spain, on the mouth without consent.
In a report published by FIFA, Hewitt, who was next to Rubiales at the medal ceremony, He assured that the Spaniard’s tone of voice was “unpleasant and unnecessarily aggressive” with FIFA workers.before accusing him of inappropriate conduct with the England players.
According to Hewitt, Rubiales “caressed” Laura Coombs’ face and “apparently forcibly kissed” Lucy Bronze on the face.
Regarding the moment in which the Spanish players went up to collect their medals, Hewitt noted that he “grabbed them very tightly”, some of them “caressed their backs”, “grabbed their arms” and “lifted them off the ground”.
“This made me very uncomfortable and embarrassed,” Hewitt added.
Rubiales responded to Hewitt’s words by assuring that it is something “incredible” and accused her of “having prejudices” against him, in addition to ensuring that she is a hypocrite because she also hugged the players on her team.
“Applying the same logic, their hugs could also be understood as non-consensual physical contact. The hypocrisy is evident,” Rubiales said during the hearing.
Regarding his attitude towards Coombs, He justified it by saying that he tried to console her because she had been injured during the final, He had needed stitches on his head and was wearing a bandage in that area.
The FIFA decided to disqualify Rubiales for three years from carrying out any football activity, as a result of his behavior during the final of the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.