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Luis Rubiales Bags Three-Year Suspension Over Jenni Hermoso World Cup Final Kiss Scandal
FIFA’s disciplinary committee has determined that Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Association (RFEF), violated article 13 of the FIFA disciplinary code through his actions following the Women’s World Cup final. As a consequence, he has been banned from all football-related activities for a period of three years.
Rubiales, aged 46, had kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent when she received her winner’s medal following Spain’s victory over England in Sydney. This incident led to a series of events, including a protest in which Spanish players and staff members walked out.
Despite consistently denying any wrongdoing, Rubiales eventually resigned from his position as RFEF president. He had persistently maintained that the kiss was consensual. FIFA had provisionally suspended him for 90 days in August, and they have now imposed a three-year ban, effectively preventing him from involvement in football until 2026. An appeal option is still available.
FIFA’s statement said: “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has banned Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Association (RFEF), from all football-related activities at national and international levels for three years, having found that he acted in breach of article 13 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
“This case relates to the events that occurred during the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ on 20 August 2023, for which Mr Rubiales had been provisionally suspended for an initial period of 90 days.
“Mr Rubiales has been notified of the terms of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision today. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, he has ten days in which to request a motivated decision. The decision remains subject to a possible appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee.
“FIFA reiterates its absolute commitment to respecting and protecting the integrity of all people and ensuring that the basic rules of decent conduct are upheld.”
Rubiales is concurrently under a criminal investigation in Spain, prompted by prosecutors who presented Hermoso’s initial complaint of sexual assault and later added an allegation of coercion. The coercion accusation pertains to alleged efforts by Rubiales to pressure the player into defending him against the public backlash following his actions. Rubiales appeared in court recently, where he denied both charges but was issued with a restraining order, prohibiting him from approaching Hermoso within a 200-meter radius.
Former Spain head coach Jorge Vilda, who openly supported Rubiales after the controversial speech in which the former president claimed he was a victim of “false feminism,” is also being investigated as part of the criminal case linked to Rubiales’s alleged coercion. Vilda denies any involvement.
Vilda was dismissed from his position last month after more than a year of issues during his tenure. Despite the controversy, he has secured a new role as the head coach of Morocco’s women’s national team.
