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“Se Acabo”: Football association confirms Rubiales’ request to resign

Rubiales had kissed the player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth during the award ceremony after the World Cup final won by Spain in Sydney on August 20. The Spanish soccer association

“I cannot continue my work “

“About my resignation, yes, I will do it, yes, because I can’t continue my work,” Rubiales he said in the interview with Piers Morgan. Rubiales added that those closest to him had advised him: “Luis, you have to take care of your dignity and continue with your life. Otherwise you will hurt the people you love and the sport you love.”

The Spanish Football Association confirmed this. “He has informed the association of this in a letter to Pedro Rocha Junco (interim president). He has also resigned from his position as vice-president of UEFA,” the RFEF said in a statement.

Morgan published a short excerpt of the interview with the 46-year-old on the X portal (formerly Twitter) on Sunday evening. According to Morgan, the interview was conducted on Sunday.

The entire episode of the talk show “Piers Morgan Uncensored” has not yet been broadcast. A statement with similar content was also published on X, which Spanish media attributed to Rubiales.

“Se Acabo “

The Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, laconically wrote “Se Acabo” (Spanish for “It’s over”) on X (formerly Twitter), echoing a slogan that Jenni Hermoso and her national team colleagues had also used to express their protest.

“The feminist country is progressing faster and faster”, emphasized Yolanda Díaz, the second deputy prime minister of the Spanish government. “The change and improvement of our lives is inevitable. We are with you, Jenni, and with all women,” she added on X.

The Spanish “MeToo” moment

Rubiales kissed player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth during the award ceremony after Spain won the World Cup final in Sydney on August 20.

This and an angry speech in which he attacked the government and the media and accused a “false feminism” of wanting to “publicly execute” him led to numerous calls for his resignation from politics, sport and the media.

The media wrote of a Spanish “MeToo” moment. The world governing body FIFA suspended him for 90 days, the government initiated proceedings against Rubiales before the sports court and the regional presidents of the RFEF called for his resignation.

But Rubiales clung on to his post. The kiss was consensual, he claimed. Hermoso repeatedly denied this and explained that she “felt like the victim of an impulsive, sexist and inappropriate act that I did not consent to.”

Accusation against Rubilaes

The 33-year-old filed a complaint against Rubilaes. This in turn enabled the public prosecutor’s office to file a criminal complaint for sexual harassment and coercion.

An investigating judge at the “Audiencia Nacional” in Madrid must now decide whether the criminal complaint will be granted and whether investigations will be initiated that could lead to a trial.

According to expert estimates, former professional Rubiales could be sentenced to between one and four years in prison if he is actually put in the dock and found guilty at trial.

By Arnold