Rubiales forcefully kissed Bronze at WWC – England FA chair،
English FA president Debbie Hewitt, in a FIFA report released Wednesday, accused former Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales of “inappropriate” conduct with England players during the medal ceremony of the 2023 Women's World Cup.
FIFA said it was considering tougher sanctions than the three-year ban it imposed on Rubiales on Oct. 30, and the release of the full report marked the first time Hewitt's testimony had been made public.
Hewitt testified to FIFA that during the medal ceremony, Rubiales grabbed and caressed the face of England player Laura Coombs and apparently forcefully kissed Lucy Bronze on the face.
Rubiales responded to the statement by saying that Coombs had been injured and had a bandage on her head, which is why he had tried to comfort her, and that Bronze was a champion of the Spanish Super Cup and that Rubiales had participated in the celebration.
Hewitt, who was alongside Rubiales at the medal ceremony, also said the Spaniard's tone of voice was “unpleasant and unnecessarily aggressive” towards FIFA workers.
The decision to ban Rubiales was taken after FIFA assessed incidents in which he allegedly kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips, allegedly without her consent, following Spain's final victory against England in August.
Rubiales was also seen grabbing his crotch in the VIP area after the final, alongside Spanish Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter.
The Commission was keen to emphasize that it was tempted to impose harsher sanctions given the seriousness and seriousness of the incidents at issue as well as the profound negative impact that the defendant's actions have had on the “image of FIFA, women's football and women's football. sport in general,” FIFA said in the report.
He adds that with “strong hesitation”, the disciplinary committee was convinced that a three-year ban would have the necessary deterrent effect.
When FIFA announced his conviction in October, Rubiales said he would appeal and accused FIFA of not giving him the opportunity to defend himself.
“I will go to the last resort to ensure that justice is done and the truth comes out,” he said in a statement via social media.
The committee said it could not ignore the impact of Rubiales' actions on Hermoso's mental health and his career, and also said Rubiales used his position to issue statements using unwritten or authorized quotes by the player.
The commission underlined that such a kiss, on the part of the president of an association, towards a player (of the opposite sex) of one of the national teams under his direction and responsibility was totally unacceptable.
He said they were satisfied that there was no agreement between them about a possible kiss and that the player's behavior before the kiss in no way implied that she wanted or consented to being kissed .
The summary states that on several occasions, Rubiales violated the fundamental rules of good conduct, resorted to offensive gestures or behaved in a way that brought football into disrepute.
FIFA said any party wishing to appeal must announce their intention to do so in writing within three days of being notified of the reasons for the decision.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
