Head of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales has been facing a series of backlash for kissing Jenni Hermoso after Spain won the Womenโs World Cup.
After Spainโs 2023 Womenโs World Cup triumph over England by a score of 1-0 on Sunday, August 20, Rubiales kissed Spainโs star Hermoso on the lips during the medals presentation ceremony.
After the incident, Hermoso wrote via an Instagram post, โI didnโt like itโ. Contrary to that, the football authority in Spain issued a statement on behalf of the Spainโs all-time leading goalscorer to defend Rubiales.
In the statement, Hermoso reportedlyย said that the kiss was a display of a โnatural gesture of affectionโ.
The 31-year-old forward was quoted saying: โIt was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that winning a World Cup bringsโ.
In a contrary reaction to the incident, a government representative in Spain, Irene Montero, who is Spainโs minister for equal rights, said โItโs a form of sexual violence that women experience daily.โ
Montero claimed that it has traditionally been โinvisibleโ and that โwe canโt normalizeโ it, adding that โwe shouldnโt believe that uninvited kissing was commonplaceโ.
Also, Rubialesโ actions were heavily criticized on social media, with โdimision yaโ โ โresign nowโ in English โ trending on X, formerly known as Twitter, in Spain.
On his part, Rubiales told Spanish broadcaster COPE that it was โa kiss between two friends celebrating somethingโ and those who saw it differently are โidiots and stupid peopleโ.
He added, โLetโs ignore them and enjoy the good thingsโ.
Spanish newspaper El Pais ran the headline โJenni didnโt like Rubialesโ kiss, neither did weโ.