Lhe affair of the forced kiss always indignant Spain. The country of feminist conquests continues to rebel against the gesture of the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, who, during the medal ceremony for the Women’s World Cup, won by La Roja on August 20, forcibly kissed forward Jenni Hermoso.
Completely out of step with the achievements of recent years in terms of violence against women, the Rubiales scandal caused an earthquake within Spanish society. ” It’s over “, “It’s not a ‘kiss’, it’s an assault”, “Jennie, we are with you”. They were thousands of women chanting these slogans in Callao Square, in the center of Madrid, Monday, August 28. A purple tide, a color that has become that of feminist struggles, to demand once again the resignation of the leader.
The outgoing socialist government had to intervene. Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz denounced “the structural machismo of sports organizations”. His sports colleague, Miquel Iceta, drove home the point: “It’s over, there will be no more discrimination against women” after this “strong social mobilization”.
The Spanish public prosecutor’s office has announced the opening of an investigation for “sexual assault” presumed. The Federation demanded, on Monday, the “immediate resignation” of its president, already suspended by the International Federation for ninety days, judging that the latest events and “unacceptable behavior” have “seriously damaged the image of Spanish football”. Luis Rubiales maintains that the kiss was consensual, an assertion categorically denied by the player who said he felt “vulnerable and victim of aggression (…) without any consent from [sa] go “.
The soap opera Rubiales experienced a new twist when its mother, Angeles Béjar, decided to start a hunger strike to demand that a solution be found. “I’ll be here as long as my body lasts. I won’t stop until Jenni [Hermoso] tell the truth. I don’t mind dying for justice. My son is an honest person”she told the Telecinco television channel on Tuesday, August 29, from a church in Motril (Andalusia), where she locked herself up.
“The scandal has overtaken the world of football”
More than the forced kiss, “What really scandalized the Spaniards was Rubiales’ attitude. He said he was the victim of a “false feminism” when he is the symbol of a machismo which does not even realize that it no longer has its place in society.explains Irune Aguirrezabal, specialist in gender issues and author of a study on parity democracy in Latin America (Marcial Pons editions, untranslated). “If Spain hadn’t won the World Cup, Rubiales’ gesture might have gone unnoticed. It is because the scandal has gone beyond the world of football that the players have finally been able to express themselves freely.assures Antonio Aguiar, director of digital sports media Usport.
You have 64.79% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.