A Week After The Scandal Broke, ‘The Son, The Father & The Holy Ghost’ Are Evoked On UK Bank Holiday Monday (August 28 2023) As Rubiales’ Mother Locks Herself In A Local Spanish Church, Commencing A Hunger Strike Until Jenni Hermoso Retracts Her Statement That The Rubiales Kiss Was Non Consensual, Despite The Truth Being Witnessed By The Whole Wide World.
TheOrator.Press (TO.P) Is A Long-Form, High Photo & Video Content, Broadsheet Style Magazine, Which Offers Readers A Literary Buffet Within Articles. Look At The List (Directly Underneath Here) And Take Your Pick, With A Click:
Seeking Divine Intervention – Ironically Out of Touch – Statements Kicking About All Week – Spain Winning The FIFA WWC 2023 Is A Real Game-Changer
The Timeline of FIFA WWC 2023 Ceremony Scandal ~ World Cup 2030 ~ The Mother of All Football Dramas ~ The Power of Girl Power & People Power
Seeking Divine Intervention In One Hell of A Scandal
Press Outside The Divina Pastora Church, Motril, On The Spanish South Coast, Where Rubiales Was Raised. His Mother, Angeles Bejar, Told Press That Her Son, 46, Does Not Deserve What She Calls “This Inhumam & Bloody Hunt”
The Rubiales ‘No Consent Kiss-Gate Scandal’ Reached The Height of All Dramas On Monday August 28th As The Mother of The RFEF (El Royal Federation of Espanol Futbol) President, Luis Rubiales, Sought Divine Intervention By Locking Herself In A Church And Going On Hungar Strike In Protest To The National And International Reaction To His Behaviour At The FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) Medal Ceremony, On Sunday August 20th 2023.
Rubiales Himself Produced A Curious Set of Photographs On Friday August 25th 2023 And Claimed Hermoso Initiated The Controversial Kiss And Physically Interferred With Him First By Jumping On Him & Lifting Him Up.
And Yet Real Time Video Evidence, Watched All Around The World, Highlights That Is Self-Evidently Not True.
Despite This Real Time Evidence He Has Adopted The Victimhood ‘Witch Hunt’ Stunt And Claimed That He Is The Victim. Not Hermoso.
After A Week of Escalation He Was Finally Suspended By FIFA On Saturday August 26th 2023.
Meantime What “The Case of Rubiales” Does Demonstrate Is That Women’s Football In Particular And Society In General Will No Longer Tolerate Blatant Sexist Behaviour In Plain Sight Occuring Before Our Very Eyes. Despite Diabolical Denials From Perpetrators or Enablers!
The Drama & The Debate Continues!
Over-Excited, Outdated, Too Touchy And Ironically Totally Out of Touch
Long Before The Rubiales Head-Grab of Hermoso His Behaviour Was Notably Peculiar. He Seemed Overly Familiar, Overly Physical And Overly Excitable. Parlicularly In The Presence of Royalty, And It Being 2023 Post The #Me Too Movement And The Harvey Wienstein Movie Industry Convictions.
Various Productions & Organisations Now Have Intimacy Coaches And Strict Rules of Engagment To Help Avoid Sexual Harrasment Scenarios From ‘Handsy’ Actors. So His Behaviour Really Stuck Out As Way Too Handsy Long Before He Got To Jenni Hermoso. The Whole Medal Ceremony Is Available To Watch At ITVX (Which Incidentally Had An Excellent Predominantley Female Commentary Team. As Did The BBC).
In The Photo Above Rubiales Is Pictured At The Front of The Line Adopting A Curious Hand Gesture. Hermoso Is Seen Centre In Between The Mascot And The Goalkeeper As Players Queue For Their Medals.
The Intrusive Behaviour of Rubiales Is Plain To See During The World Cup Medal Ceremony In Front of Spanish Royalty. The Team And The Country Still Continued Professionally And Celebrated Receiving The Trophy, Presented To Them By FIFA President @Gianni_Infantino.
This Fallout Was A Longtime Coming & Alot of People Aired Alot of Feelings With Alot of Statements Kicking About!
On A Live Social Media Feed Amongst The Players Shortly After The Medal Ceremony Jenni Hermoso Was Asked About The Kiss Rubiales Planted On Her And Said That She Did Not Like Him Doing That. But She Questioned What She Should Have Done About It Under The Circumstances And The Fact That It Was Being Televised In Real Time In Front of The Whole World.
The Next Day He Publicly Apologised By Video (On The Monday).
But The Outrage Continued To Grow Despite The Apology, With The Spanish Prime Minister Declaring It Inadeequate (On The Tuesday).
Hermoso Then Put Out A Statement Saying She Felt Vulnerable At The Time But Now She Had The Support of Her Team, Including The Coaching Assistants, And They Would Not Be Playing As A Team Again Unless The Management Was Changed (On The Wednesday).
Rubiales Did Not Like That Hermoso Statement And So (Still President) He Summoned An An Extraordinary Meeting of The RFEF (Royal Federation of Espanola Football) At Which He Delivered A Refusal To Resign Speech And Threatened To Sue For Defamation (On The Friday)
FIFA Suspended Him The Very Next Day. EL RFEF Suddenly Swiftly Confirm They Received Notification From FIFA That Rubiales Was Suspended And Vice President Pedro Rocha Junco Has Replaced Rubiales As Interim President (On The Saturday).
Come The UK Bank Holiday Monday (August 28 2023) The Mother of Rubiales Was Hauled Up In A Local Church Seeking Sanctuary, A Retraction of Statements From Hermoso And An Apology On Behalf of Her Offspring. She Declared Herself on Hunger Strike Until Her Demands Were Met. So The Case Continued To Be Shocking And Dramatic.
What Sent Her Looking For Divine Intervention Was Probably The Fact That El RFEF Finally Withdrew Their Support For Him Following The FIFA Suspension Over The Weekend. Effectively One Week One Day After The Unconsented Kiss They Also Pledged That There Would Be Better Conditions Within The Spanish Women’s Football Game (On The Monday)
Other Women’s Teams Have Had Federation Problems Too, Including Nigeria Who Issued A Statement At The End of The FIFA Women’s World Cup Tournament Explaining Their Own Issues. And Newly Retired USA Football Team Superstar Megan Rapinoe Said In An Interview That The Rubiales Case Highlights The On Going Problem of Sexism & Mysogyny In Women’s Football. The Lionesses Issued A Statement In Support of The Spanish Team (Again, On The Saturday).
Spain Win The FIFA Womens World Cup 2023: And Its A Real Game-Changer
Photo: Daniela Procelli/ISI Photos.
Handsy Rubiales With His Hand Over The Shouler of Anthenea Del Castillo @realmadridfem As They Sit Edge of The Podium After The FIFA WWC Medal Ceremony 2023.
Members of The Male Spanish Team Which Won The World Cup In 2010 Have Made Clear That They Support @jennihermoso And Will Not Accept The Machismo Behaviour of Luiz Rubiales. @sefutbol @sefutbolfem @larojafutbol
At A Pre-Match Press Conference On Saturday August 26th 2023 Barcelona Manager Xavi Hernandez @xavi Firstly Expressed Unconditional Support For Hermoso.
Secondly, He Condemned The Conduct of The Federation’s President Which He Said Was “Unacceptable”.
Thirdly He Said He Had Sorrow For The Fact That There Is No Talk Of The Historic Milestone of The World Cup But Instead Talk About This Intolerant Behaviour.
Former Atletico Madrid And Manchester United Player David De Gea @d_degeaofficial Passionately Poetic Said “My Ears Are Bleeding”
Former Spanish Goalkeeper, Now Football Commentator, @ikercasillas Described The Case of Rubiales As “A Total Embarrassment.”
Spanish Striker Borja Iglesias @borjaiglesias9 Who Plays For Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen Said He Would Not Play For The Men’s National Team Again As Long As Rubiales Was Still In Charge (As RFEF President).
A Spanish Movement Called #Se Acabo Has Built Up In Support of Hermoso Since The Incident. Both Men & Women Are Saying “It’s Over”, Meaning That This Era of Power Abuse & Mismanagement Cannot Be Tolerated Anymore. Enough Is Enough And It’s Time For Change. #ContigoJenni (Hashtag We Are With You Jenni) Has Also Builit Up In Support of La Roja’s (The Spainish Team’s) Highest Goal Scorer.
Handsy Rubiales Touches 16 Year Princess Sophia of Spain At The FIFA World Cup Ceremony On Sunday August 20th 2023. He Issued A Video Statement On Monday In Which He Apologised To The Spanish Queen & Her Daughter For His Earlier Crotch Grabbing Behaviour Caught On Camera. By Saturday (A Week Later) He Was Finally Suspended By FIFA!
Too Handsy? Even With Royalty? Can He Credibly Claim He Received Royal Consent (Consiento) Here Too, To Be So Hands On And Up Close & Personal?
In Britain It Was A Well Known Matter of Royal Protocol & Ettiquete That One Could Not Touch Royalty Without Royal Permission or Invitation. And Even As Recently As Throughout The Reign of The Late Queen.
In 2011 When The Obamas Were Hosted By The Palace On A State Visit And The Former First Lady @MichelleObama Affectionately Placed A Gentle Hand On The Queen’s Back During A Press Gathering, Courtiers And Commentators Cited All Kinds of Royal Rules, Despite The Queen And Mrs Obama Enjoying A Close Friendship Within The Diplomatic Context of The Decades Old American & Britain Special Relationship.
The Latter Wrote About The Drama In Her Bestselling Book ‘Becoming’ And Revealed It Was A Gesture of Empathy Further To A Private Conversation Between The Women About Wearing Heals. Both Stately Ladies Are Famed For Being Fashion Icons.
@queenletizia Was Representing Spain Along With 16 Yearl Old Daughter And The Team Presented Them With A No.12 Team Jersey & The Trophy (Which The Princess Is Holding).
The Problem of Power Turning Poisonous Was Present Long Before The Consent Issue
Rubiales Has Been Controversial Throughout His Time As El RFEF President Since 2018.
He Sacked The Former Spanish Coach Julen Lopetegui The Day Before The Men’s 2018 World Cup.
Yet He Supported The Current Spanish Women’s Team Coach Jorge Vilda Against Complaints By The Female Team Last Year Regarding Their Discontent With The Management, Player Working Conditions And Team Provisions Including Travel Facilities, Training Facilities, Misrepresentation, And Under Payment. Shockingly Up Until As Recently As 2019 Members of The Female Spanish Team Were Reportedly Forbidden To Lock Their Hotel Rooms During Away Fixtures. And An Associate of Rubiales Accused Him of Paying For Orgies From RFEF Funds. (And Also Home Renovations.) He Denies Those Claims Too. Former Marketing Executive For The Asociacion De Futbolistas Espanol (AFE), The Spanish Footballers Association, Tamara Ramos, Claimed That She Suffered Humilitation At The Hands of Rubiales Who Would Demean Her By Asking About The Colour of Her Underwear And Implying Her Desire Was To Be “On Her Knees” With Him As Told To The Channel El Programa del Verano. In A Statement Thursday 24 August 2023 The RFEF Denounced Her Claims And Threatened Legal Action.
In September 2022, Under Vilda, 15 Women From The La Roja Fem Team Made Written Complaints And Resigned. The FIFA WWC 2023 Saw 7 of Them Stand Firm And Make Themselves Unavailable, 5 Officially Not Selected And 3 Deciding To Play Only Subject To Certain Conditions.
Rubiales Previously Reffered To Player Gerard Pique Bernabeu As His Business Partner When It Was Revealed That The Player’s Company Kosmos (In Which Pique Holds A Substantial Interest) Helped Rubiales And The RFEF Take The Spanish Supercopa From Spain To Saudi Arabia Until 2029. The Move Saw Rubiales And Others Make Millions. Many Considered It Somewhat Underhanded And It Caused Outrage In Spain And Throughout The Football Community Generally. The Regulations On Such Associations Were Changed Subsequently With The Introduction of The Anti-Pique Regulations In The New Spanish Sports Law As of January 1st 2023 “Law 39/2022” Which Included A Range of Sweeping Amendments To The Whole of Spanish Football.
Friday August 25th 2023
She Started It Alleges Rubiales In A Classic Play The Blame Game And Put Her Down Defence At An Extraordinary Meeting of The RFEF On Fri Aug 25 2023. This Came After He Originally Issued An Apology On Mon Aug 21 2023 Where He Admitted He Had ‘Lost Control’ At The Medal Ceremony On Sun Aug 20th 2023 In A State of ‘The Highest Excuberance’.
This Eventful Friday Saw Rubiales Make The Defiant Speech At An Extraordinary Meeting of The RFEF Convened To Address The Scandal. Instead of Calming Things Down It Was Incendiary.
“Do You Think This [Incident] Is So Serious That I Should Go, After The Best Management In The History Of Spanish Football? Let Me Tell You: I Am Not Going To Resign. I Am Not Going To Resign. I Am Not Going To Resign. I Am Not Going To Resign. I Am Not Going To Resign.“
“I’ve Come Under A Lot Of Pressure. Perhaps Somebody Will Look To Remove Me On Monday.“
In A Moment Of Euphoria, I Grabbed That Part Of My Body,” Rubiales Said. “I Was Looking At [Coach] Jorge Vilda. We’ve Been Through A Lot This Year. People Have Wanted To Do The Same To [Vilda] That People Are Doing To Me, With A False Narrative. We’ve Suffered A Lot. I Got Very Emotional And Lost Control.
I Must Apologise To The Queen, The Infanta And The Royal Household. My Sincere Apologies.”
“My Desire In That Moment Was Exactly The Same As If I’d Have Been Kissing One Of My Daughters,” He Said. “No More Or Less.
“But We Live In A Country Of Laws. Is A Consensual Kiss Enough To Remove Me? I’m Going To Fight Until The End. I Hope The Law Is Followed, And That As There’s No Reason To [Remove Me], It Won’t Happen.”
“Everybody Understands That.“
“It Was A Spontaneous Kiss, Mutual, Euphoric And Consensual. That’s The Key.“
By Friday He Had In Effect Retracted The Video Apology of The Previous Monday And Became Recalcitrant, Insisting, No Less Than Five Times, That He Would Not Resign Despite Calls To Do So.
Men And Women In The Room Applauded Him At The Time. (Including Spain’s Head Coach Jorge Vilda. Who Had His Own Issues With Team, Because They Have Not Been Happy With His Management).
Rubiales Abandons His Apologetic Approach Taken At The Start of The Week And Now Instead Refuses To Resign, Accussing Jenni Hermoso of Initiating Things And “Fake Feminism.”
“She Had Missed A Penalty.
I Have A Great Relationship With All The Players.
In The Moment That Jenni Arrived, She Lifted Me Up Off The Ground. We Almost Fell Over.
We Hugged.
I Said, ‘Forget About The Penalty, You’ve Been Fantastic, We Wouldn’t Have Won The World Cup Without You.
‘She Said: ‘You’re Great.’
I Said, ‘A Kiss?’ And She Said: ‘Yes.’
“From ‘No Big Deal’ And All That,
Then The Pressure Starts,
The Silence Of The Player
And A Statement, That I Don’t Understand.
Justice Isn’t Being Done Here.
This Is A Social Assassination Of Me,
They’re Trying To Kill Me.”
“We Must Know The Difference Between Truth And Lies,” He Said. “I’m Telling The Truth. False Feminism Doesn’t Look For Justice Or Truth, It Doesn’t Care About People. People Have Used Terms Like Sexual Violence, Assault. What Will Women Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted Think Of That?”
“These People Are Trying To Assassinate Me And I’m Going To Defend Myself. The False Feminists Destroy People. … The Press, In The Majority, Will Keep Killing Me But I Know The Truth, And What My Family And The People Who Love Me Think. The Truth Is The Truth.”
“The Royal Spanish Football Federation Has Learned Of The Statement Made Public By The Futpro Union… Broadcast Live By Streaming And Offered To All The Media... The RFEF And The President, Given The Seriousness Of The Content Of The Press Release From The Futpro Union, Will Initiate The Corresponding Legal Actions.“
@rfef
Whilst @JenniHermoso Was Team Captain On This Historic Occassion, It Was Olga Carmona @olgacarmona7 Who Delivered A Stealth-Like Strong Strike Into The Top Right Hand Corner Of The Net As The Smallest Slither of An Opportunity Presented Itself In This Engergetic Women’s World Cup Final.
It Was Widely Accepted That On The Day Spain Were The Better Players, Displaying Just That Little Bit More Hunger, Passion And Pre-Match Preparation. England Were Simply Outmanouvered At The Ultimate Stage of Football’s Biggest International Game.
It Was A Dramatic Match With Lots of Action And Both Teams Playing To Win. But One Team’s Play Seemed Alot More Tight, Fast & Focused Than The Other. And One Team Seemed Surprisingly Somewhat Under Prepared.
Spain Played Passionately As Predicated, And Focused On Getting, Keeping And Retrieving Possession As Much As Possible. Strangely, As That Was Pre-Match Analysis of How They Would Play From Virtually All of The Pundits. The @lionesses Did Not Seem As Strategically Ready For That As They’ve Been strategically Ready In Other Games. But One of The Standout Stars of The Match MaryEarps @1maryearps Was Definitely Primed And Successfully Executed A Stunning Penalty Save To Keep The Score Line Down To What It Was At The End of Half Time, Namely 1-0.
But Ironically It Was After The Win That Captain Hermoso Would Make Legendary History Following An Outrageous Kiss That Would Led To A World of Controversy.
Handsy Rubiales Poses With His Hand Across The Thighs of Anthenea Del Castillo @realmadridfem As He Lifts Her Whole Body Over His Shoulder On The Pitch In Plain Sight. Can He Credibly Claim She Gave Him Consent Too For This Move?
Timeline In Dramatic, Statement-Filled, History-Making Week Following The FIFA Women’s World Cup Ceremony Scandal Centred Around RFEF President Luis Rubiales:
Sunday August 20th 2023
The Unconsented Kiss On The World Stage!
A Double Hander From Handsy: Rubiales Locks Hermoso In With His Forearm As He Grabs Her Head And Kisses Her On The Lips Uninvited!
The World Cup Final: Spain v England. Spain Win 1-0 And The Medal Ceremony Takes Place The Same Day. During The Course of Handing Out The Gold Medal To Players Rubiales Hugs, Rubs, And Buries His Head Into The Neck of A No. of Players. When Jenni Hermoso Arrives He Grabs Her Head, Locks His Arms Down Over Her Shoulders, And Kisses Her On The Mouth Very Emphatically.
Things Progress As Normal. FIFA President Gianni Infantino Handed Out The Winning Trophy & The Team Celebrated.
Viewers At Home Note Rubiales’ Behaviour On TV As It Was Broadcast Live By The World’s TV Channels.
On The Team Coach Back Home The Players Asked Jenni Hermoso What She Thought of Rubiales Kissing Her As He Did. She Says She Did Not Like It.
Monday August 21st 2023
The Day After The Kiss
On Monday August 21st 2023 Admist The Outrage That Followed The World Watching His Head-Grabbing, Non-Consensual, Forceful, Kiss On The Lips of Hermoso The Day Before, Rubiales Issues A Video Apology.
“There Is One Thing I Regret, And That Is What Happened Between Me And A Player With Whom I Have A Magnificent Relationship, As I Do With Others. Certainly I Made A Mistake And I Have To Acknowledge That.”
“It Was Done Without Any Ill Intention In A Moment of The Highest Exuberance. What Happened Happened I Think In A Very Spontaneous Way.”
“I Am Sorry That In The Face of The Greatest Success In Our History In Women’s Football And One of The Greatest In General, Being The Second World Cup We Have Won, This Has Somewhat Tarnished The Celebrations.“
“If I Have Offended Anyone, I Have No Choice But To Apologise And To Learn From This And Understand That When You Are The President of An Institution As Important As The Federation You Have To Take More Care, Especially During Ceremonies And Similar Circumstances.”
Meanwhile The Spanish Champions Arrived Back Home In Madrid On Monday To A Heroes Welcome And Celebrations Lasted Late Into The Night Even After Their 20 Hour Flight.
Tuesday August 22nd 2023
On Tuesday August 22 2023 The Team Met Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (Photo Above: Blue Suit) At The Presidential Moncloa Palace In Madrid, Where He Announced They Would Receive The Golden Royal Order of Sports Achievement Medal.
Sanchez Declared That The Rubiales Apology Was “Insufficient” “Inappropriate” And “Unacceptable”. And That Rubiales (In Photo Above: Far Left) “has yet to be clear and compelling in his apologies.”
After Spain Beat Sweden 2-1 To Reach The Final On Wednesday August 16 2023 (And England Beat Australia 3-1 To Become Their World Cup Final Opponents) PM Sanchez Posted “To The Final.” “Keep Making History. All of Spain Is With You.” Little Could He Have Known Those Words Would Prove so Prophetic.
They Did Keep Making History And They Won The World Cup On The Sunday. But They Made History For Another Reason At The Medal Ceremony: ‘The Case of Rubiales’ As It Is Simply Referred To By Some In Spain.
The Importance of Sport Is Embedded In The Spanish Culture And The Spanish Constitution. The CSD – El Consejo Superior de Deportes – Spain’s National High Council For Sport, Led By Victor Francos Diaz, Since June 2023, Is Part of The Ministry of Education, Culture And Sport. The Spanish Constitution Article 43.3 Mandates That Public Authorities Must Promote Physical Education And Sport.
Yolanda Díaz, Second Deputy Prime Minister And Leader of Left Wing Coalitin Sumar, Declared “He Has Harrassed And Without Doubt Assaulted A Woman. His Excuses Are of No Use At All. What we ask is for the sports law to be applied and for the sport’s federation protocols to be activated. This person should resign. Sumar Confirmed It Has Submitted A Complaint To The CSD.
Miguel Galan Head of Spain’s National Training Center For Football Managers, Also Confirmed It Has Submitted A Complaint To The CSD.
Spain’s Equality Minister Irene Montero Described The Behaviour of Rubiales As A Form of Sexual Violence That Women Suffer On A Daily Basis. [Under Tough New Sexual Offence Laws Introduced In Spain After The Notorious 2016 “La Manda, Wolf Pack, WhatsApp Group, Bull Run Festival, Rape Case” Rubiales May Face Prosecution For A Sex Crime.]
Spain’s minister for culture and sport, Miquel Iceta, Like The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Described The Action As “unacceptable.”
El País, One of Spain’s Main Newspapers, Through Its Sports Editor @Nadia_Tronchoni Described The Unconsented Kiss As “An Aggression” And Lamented The Fact That The Spanish Women’s World Cup Victory Had Been Spoilt By A Man.
Also On Tuesday August 22 2023 The Spanish Football Association – AFE (Asociacion de Futbolistas Espanoles) – Issued A Statement In Support of Hermoso Declaring That Physical Gestures Are Never Appropriate or Acceptable Without Consent (In Any Context), Hermoso Was Vulnerable Because A Person In Position of Power Initiated A Physical Gesture, And The CSD Should Remove Rubiales If He Refuses To Step Down.
It Called For The July 11 2007 Sports Law (Modifcation of Law 19) To Be Applied. This Sporting Regulation Within Spain’s Sports Law Deals With Violence, Racism, Xenophobia And Intolerance In Sport And Can Be Applied To Actions That Involve Harrassment, Understood As Any Unwanted Conduct, Related To The Sex, Racial, Ethnic, Geographical or Sexual Orientation of A Person. Or Their Religious Commitments; If It Has The objective or consequence of attacking their dignity and creating an intimidating, humiliating or offensive environment.
Wednesday August 23rd 2023
Wednesday August 23rd 2023 The Worldwide Football Players Union ‘Fifpro’ Issued A Statement Wholeheartedly Supporting The AFE Statement Issued The Day Before It Demanded An Investigation Under FIFA’s Code of Ethics (Article 13 Deals With Offensive Behaviours And Violations of The Principles of Fair Play). It Declared It “Lamentable” That Such A Special Moment “Taking Place For A Global Television Audience” Was “Stained” By The Inappropriate Conduct of An Individual “In A Role” Carrying So Much Responsibility. And It Declared That Uninvited Physical Approaches Are Not Appropriate In Any Context by a person who holds a position of power in their workplace.
Hermoso Also Issued A Statement The Same Day Confirming That She Had Professionals Defending Her Interests, Namely Her union futpro @futpro_asociacion And Her Agent TMJ @mktjersey Futpro Issued A Statement Calling on RFEF To Implement The Necessary Protocols, Protect Player Rights And Adopt Exemplary Measures. It Also Asked The CSD To Support “Prevention And Intervention” Regarding Sexual Harrassment or Abuse. It Said It Rejects Any “Attitude or Behaviour” That Violates Footballers Rights And Is Working To Make Sure Acts Like Those From Rubiales Never Go Unpunished. It Also Confirmed It Would Meet With The Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz @diaz_yolanda The Coming Monday.
Friday August 25th 2023
The RFEF Released A Vitriolic Statement In Support of Rubiales Along With A Set of What Appear To Be Heavily Doctored Utterly Incredulous Looking Images Purporting To Show Hermoso Grabbed Hold of Him, Not Vice Versa.
“The RFEF Regrets That After Such An Extraordinary Sporting Success As The One That Occurred In The Soccer World Championship, It Cannot Be Celebrated As The Situation And Success Deserves For Completely Non-Sports Reasons.“
“In Any Case, And How Can It Be Otherwise, The RFEF Respects As It Has Respected At All Times The Decisions Of The Players Who Want To Participate Or Not With The Spanish Team In International Matches, Although It Records That Participation In The Selection Is An Obligation Of All The Federated People If They Are Called For It.“
@futpro Jenni Hermoso’s Professional Union Had A Message For Rubiales And His Enablers.
STOP!
There Was No Hiding It. Spain Were Estatically Europhic, Dancing, Hugging And Singing All Over The Place. Naturally. It Seemed Perfectly In Keeping With Their World Cup Victory. In Comparison England Were Visibly Devastated. And There Was No Hiding That Either. Tears Were Shed By Players And Fans Alike. But Everyone Was Civil & Respectful.
With One Glaring Exception. And He Was The Embodiment of Hand Ball With Horribly ‘Handsy’ Behaviour, Horribly Out of Control. This Was Even Before He Got To @JenniHermoso. But When He Got To Her, The Head Grab, The Kiss On The Lips, And The Sense of Entitlement, Became The Infamous Last Straw That Broke The Camel’s Back (Available To Watch On ITVX ).
The Lionesses Later Issued A Statement On Twitter Saying That They Stand With @jennihermoso Despite Being Beaten By The Spanish Team (See Below Friday August 25th 2023).
Before That Classy Admirable Show of Support Sadly However They’d Delivered A Double Whammy of Disappointment By Choosing Not To Greet Fans At The Airport On Their Return To London (Following Their FIFA WWC Final Defeat). Instead They Choose To Leave By A Private Airport Exit. It Was Clearly Somewhat of A Surprise That A Team of Their Class And Calibre Chose Not To Face The Music, Especially Considering The Fans Who Invested The Time, Money And Effort To Turn Up And Show Their Support For A Valiant Team Effort.
However On Wednesday (August 23 2023) Georgia Stanway @stanwaygeorgia Appeared On The ITV’s This Morning Programme @This Morning To Talk About The Tournament & Returning To Club Play. On Friday (August 25 2023) @_Jess Carter Was Interviewed By The BBC And Sky News About Her Thoughts On The Scandal. And Ella Toone Spoke About It @5 Live Sport.
Handsy Rubiales Appears To Squeeze The Thigh of Anthenea Del Castillo @realmadridfem As Walks Off With Her Caveman Style Over His Shoulder. Did He Get Consent From Her Too, Just As He Claims He Did From Jenni Hermoso?
Friday August 25th 2023
[Continued From Second Column]
Earlier In The Week Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Described The Rubiales Apolgoy As “Insufficient” “Inappropriate” And “Unacceptable” (Following A Welcome Reception For The Players At The Spanish Palace. See Second Column Opposite).
On Friday August 25th 2023 Hermoso Issued Her Own Statement In Repsonse To The Rubiales Speech Which Said:
On The Same Day @Futpro_asociacion Published A Press Release On Instagram Confirming That A Combination of Over 80 People Including Players From @Sefutbolfem, The Mens Team And Various Coaches In Support of @jennihermoso Also Refuse To Play Under The Current RFEF Management.
Also On The Same Day England Defender @_Jess Carter Posted On Her Twitter Account A Message of Support From The Lionesses (Even ThoughThey Lost The World Cup To Spain 1-0).
At This Point Rubiales And His Enablers Seemed Totally Outplayed!
Photo: Victor Francos Diaz President of The CSD. Following Hermoso’s Statement, In A News Conference Later On Friday He Confirmed That The CSD – Consejo Superior del Deportes – Spain’s National High Council For Sport – Could Now Initiate Legal Proceedings To Suspend Rubiales.
[It Can Refer Complaints to Spain’s Tribunal of administrative In sports – The TAD – (Tribunal Administrativo del Deporte) If A Federation Refuses To Act appropriately. The Decision Whether or Not To Take Further Action Then Rests With Them].
“The Government Starts Today The Procedure So That Mr Rubiales Has To Give Explanations Before The Sport Court. And If The Sport Court Agrees, I Can Announce That We Will Suspend Mr. Rubiales From His Functions.”
Saturday August 26th 2023
On Saturday August 26th 2023 In One of The Biggest, Most Awkward, Most Telling Differences of Approach In Football Leadership, Amongst Governing Bodies, The RFEF Found Itself In A Very Awkward Positon Having Hosted The Rubiales Defiant Speech The Day Before On Friday Afternoon, And Earlier In The Morning On Saturday Issuing Yet Another Damning Statement Denouncing Hermosa As A Liar And Threatening Her With Legal Action, In A New Statement On The Same Day, It Now Announced That It Had Received Notification From FIFA’s Disciplinary Department That FIFA Had Provisionally Suspended Rubiales For 90 Days, Vice President Pedro Rocha Junco Would Replace Him, And A Disciplinary File Against Rubiales Could Now Be Processed.
Meantime The Women’s Spanish Team’s Coach Jorge Vilda Also Finally Denounced The Rubiales’ Behaviour In A Statement. But This Was Only After Calls For Those People Who Clapped The Rubiales Speech The Day Before To Also Be Removed, In Order To Make Way For New Management. And At This Stage of The Game The Writing Appears To Already Be On the Wall For Vilda Too Because One of The Reasons The Rubiales Denouncement Is So Unforgivingly Widespread And Brutal Is Because These Two Men Are Seen As Having Form From Way Back When, And Redress Has Been A Long time Coming. Plus Many Felt Vilda Only Had The Position Because of His Football Veteran Father, Rather Than On His Own Merit.
Monday August 28th 2023
On Monday August 28th 2023 The RFEF Issued Its Fourth Major Statement Since The Recalcitrant Rubiales Speech At Friday’s Extraordinary RFEF Meeting (Which He Had Reportedly Summoned Himself). In A Complete U Turn It Announced Its Commitment To A New Management Style, A More Progressive Attitude, Better Conditions Within The Women’s Game And Its Call For The Resignation of Rubiales. It Also Confirmed That The Federation’s “Internal Protocols” Were Now Activated As A Result Of FIFA Suspending Rubiales].
“After The Latest Events And The Unacceptable Behaviors That Have Seriously Damaged The Image Of Spanish Football, The Presidents Request That Mr. Luis Rubiales Immediately Present His Resignation As President Of The RFEF.“
“We Warmly Congratulate The Women’s Soccer Team For Their Victory In The World Cup. We Value The Meaning And Legacy Of Success For Spanish Sport. We Express Our Admiration And Gratitude To An Unrepeatable Group Of Players And We Extend Our Congratulations To All Those Who Have Built, Over The Years With Determination, The Growth Of Women’s Football.“
“We Will Urge The Corresponding Bodies To Carry Out A Deep And Imminent Organic Restructuring In Strategic Positions Of The Federation To Give Way To A New Stage Of Management In Spanish Football.“
“In Addition, We Have Urged President Pedro Rocha To Immediately Withdraw The Last Communication On Behalf Of The Federation With FIFA And UEFA.” [The Digital Photographs Issued By Rubiales On Friday Through RFEF No Doubt Played A Part In That Withdrawal Request. See Seperate Article On This Month’s TheOrator.Press (TO.P) Education Page Regarding This Question of Photo Manipulation Technology]
“The RFEF Maintains Its Commitment To Continue Implementing Its Investment, As Well As Equality Policies For The Development Of Women’s Football.“
“Lastly, The Presidents’ Commission Has Given Its Unanimous Support To Mr. Pedro Rocha So That He May Lead A New Stage Where Dialogue And Reconciliation With All Football Institutions Is The Line To Follow.”
“We Make Ourselves Available To The CSD And All The Institutions Involved To Continue Building Together The Candidacy For The 2030 World Cup.“
The World Cup 2030
The Eventual Suspension By FIFA And The Huge U-Turn By RFEF Appears To Have Been Influenced To A Substantial Extent By Their Quest For Spain To Host The 2030 World Cup. A Decison Is Yet To Be Made About Which Nation Will Have That Sporting Honour.
I Am Worried About The World Cup. Two Weeks Ago We Were In A Better Position For The 2030 World Cup Than We Are Today.
But We Are A Stubborn Government.
Spanish Sport Isn’t Like What We’ve Been Seeing These Days And Spanish Football Isn’t What You’ve Seen These Days.
Victor Francos, CSD Press Conference, Mon August 28th 2023
The Mother of All Football Dramas
Also On Monday August 28th 2023 Despite Evidence To The Contary The Mother of Rubiales Takes Sanctuary In A Local Church, Goes On Hunger Strike, Insists Her Son Is Innocent, And Demands Hermoso Retract Her Statements. Speaking To Local Press A Cousin Said The Family Has Had To Move Because They Are Being Harrassed, It Is UnFair, Rubiales Has Done Nothing Wrong, And He Is the Victim of A Witch Hunt. [Sound Familiar?].
On The Same Day Hermoso Supporters Held Protests In Madrid’s Callao Square, With Signs Saying ‘Contigo Jenni’ (With You Jenni) & ‘Se Acbo’ (It’s Over). Meanwhiles Rubiales Still Refuses To Resign. (See Second And Fourth Large Photo Top of This Article).
Comment: The Power of Unity, Girl Power & People Power!
‘The Case of Rubiales‘ Is Not What The FIFA Women’s World Cup Winners Would Have Wanted Nor Expected. But Their Unity, It’s Very Public Nature, Unisex Support, Worldwide Coverage, And ‘Right’ On Their Side, Allowed Them To Powerfully Fight It. And That Fight Is Now Recognised As A Life-Changing Historical Moment That Adds Great Momentum To The MeTooMvmnt In Turn It Is Also Literally A Game-Changer For Women’s Football, Society In General, Women Throughout The World, Humanity And History of Gender Equality. African Countries Like Nigeria And Caribbean Countries Like Jamaica Also Had Their Moments of Reckoning With Their Management As Well And We Will Be Looking At Those Too. Everyone Deserves A Level Playing Field. Literally!
Amen To That!
TheOrator.Press ~ A New, Monthly, Online, Independent Magazine 