Spain defeated England in the final to win its first women's World Cup ever, and it was a tense game as the two teams were evenly matched. The country SHOULD be celebrating, but the achievement has been overshadowed by a dudebro dudebro-ing and naturally refusing to accept responsibility for said dudebroery.
Jennifer Hermoso is a forward for Team Spain and was the runner up for the best player of the entire tournament this year, winning a Silver Ball. But during the final victory ceremony after she was presented with her medal, Spain's national football federation president Luis Rubiales suddenly grabbed Hermoso and kissed her on the mouth, an act that Hermoso quickly said she didn't like and has maintained was uninvited and not consensual. Rubiales disagrees of course, insisting that it was entirely consensual and she was actually fine with it. His response is an important part of the controversy - as the incident was growing in discussion worldwide in the hours and days after the tournament, Rubiales via the federation released a statement which claimed to quote Hermoso herself calling it a "totally spontaneous mutual gesture" and asserting that "the president and I have a great relationship". Other statements from the same time by Rubiales are given on behalf of both himself and Hermoso, using the world "we" to describe what he claims is a mutual opinion that what happened was just fine but perhaps regrettable only in light of how it looked to "outsiders"; he's even gone so far as to describe a fantastical version of the events, in which Hermoso "lifted him up" and said OK after he politely asked her for "a little peck". As if the incident wasn't, you know, broadcast live internationally and everyone didn't see him just grab her head and force a kiss on her completely by surprise.
But Hermoso herself
released a statement of her own asserting the quote released by the federation on her behalf was made up, that "at no time" did she want or consent to the kiss. She's also described the federation as putting immense pressure on her and even on her family and friends to force her to recant and agree with the federation president that the kiss was consensual, but that she has refused.
Since then Rubiales has faced widespread condemnation from most quarters. Several Spanish politicians have called for his resignation, the
entire 2023 women's team has said they would not play another national-team game as long as he remains federation president, along with dozens of other professional female players who said they would not play if called up, and even (sadly only) one of the men's national team stars has said the same thing. The Spanish players' union is supporting Hermoso as well, and so is FIFA, who have suspended Rubiales from international participation while they investigate.
The Spanish football federation is the lone and very loud voice in Rubiales' corner. They have threatened legal action against Hermoso for calling the kiss nonconsensual, declaring that she definitely wanted it, and included a warning that all federated players are "obligated" to play if they're called up for the national team.
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