Luis Rubiales, the suspended head of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced his resignation from the role Sunday (September 10) after he kissed Spanish player Jenni Hermoso while celebrating their win against England at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup last month. He has also resigned his position as vice president of the European football league UEFA while vowing to clear his name against what he called "excessive persecution."
"To insist on waiting around and holding onto that won't contribute anything positive, neither to the Federation nor to Spanish football," he wrote in a resignation letter posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "Among other things, because the powers that be will prevent my return."
He also announced his resignation in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, which, according to his critics, has long been overdue.
With his resignation, the RFEF's board of directors would now call an election to find a successor.
Defenderé mi honorabilidad.
— Luis Rubiales (@LuisRubiales17) September 10, 2023
Defenderé mi inocencia.
Tengo Fe en el futuro.
Tengo Fe en la verdad.
Gracias a todos. 🇪🇸https://t.co/yS9rM1HBTm
'It's Over' the Spanish 'Me Too' Movement
Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz was one of the first to celebrate the announcement, saying Spain is now moving forward as a "feminist country."
"The transformation and improvement of our lives is inevitable," she said. "We are with you, Jenni, and with all women."
The comments were the aftermath of a huge social media and public backlash against Rubiales and his behavior, which included street demonstrations and the creation of #SeAcabó ("It's Over" in Spanish), a new slogan taking aim at the sexism the disgraced football boss was seen to embody.
Observers speculate that "Se Acabó" is the Spanish version of the US "Me Too" movement.
In addition to public outrage, Rubiales is also facing a criminal investigation by Spanish prosecutors, which could potentially see him face trial for sexual assault as the country has slowly been dismantling the concept of "machismo" from its culture as spearheaded by its left-leaning liberal Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Hours after Rubiales's announcement, Hermoso appeared in Mexico as the crowd and the team she plays for, CF Pachuca Femenil, honored the star in her first match since the World Cup victory.
"I think what (Rubiales) did was wrong and all the attention that they should have as champions went directly to him, and I think it's right that he was removed from his position," a football fan told CNN's Spanish language service.
Right-Wing Spaniards Split Over Rubiales
On the other hand, the BBC reported about a rift between right-wing Spaniards regarding Rubiales and his behavior in the recent World Cup.
Some conservative Spaniards sided with the disgraced boss's reason that the calls for him to resign were a "social assassination" in his career. Some far-right Spaniards, like Vox Party's Hermann Tertsch, denounced what he called the "social decapitation" of Rubiales. There were also reports of his mother locking herself up in a church and staging a hunger strike before being taken to hospital.
However, a September 5 poll by 40dB showed that 72% of Spaniards thought Rubiales's actions in the incident were unacceptable, including nearly half of the respondents affiliated to or voted for Vox, the party that was most vocal in opposing the government's equality agenda.
