The resigned president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, reiterated this Tuesday that the kiss of player Jenni Hermoso was “consensual”, “mutual” and did not have any sexual connotation.
“It was a mutual act, he came to me very happy. “She lifted me up, she lifted me in the air… We were both excited,” Rubiales said this Tuesday in an interview with the British television program Piers Morgan Uncensored.
“I was able to talk to him immediately. We congratulated each other. I gave him a quick kiss. I asked him ‘can I give you a quick ‘piquito’? Something normal in our country,” added Rubiales in this interview.
“I think he tapped me on the side once or twice, laughed and that was it. It was not intentional. There was no sexual connotation of any kind, it was just a moment of happiness, the great joy of the moment,” explained Rubiales.
The former RFEF president caused surprise and general outrage when on August 20 he kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the mouth at the World Cup medal ceremony in Australia, after Spain’s victory.
His action, along with his actions in the box putting his hand on his penis, and his subsequent refusal to resign five days later at an RFEF assembly, led to his suspension by FIFA for 90 days.
At the same time, the Spanish sports justice system opened a file against him and a judge from the National Court, Spain’s top criminal court, summoned him to testify on Friday in an investigation for a alleged crime of sexual assault.
“It turned into a snowball made with false arguments. My intentions were noble, 100% non-sexual, 100%, I repeat 100%,” insisted Rubiales, in which he also mentioned his resignation which he announced on Sunday.
The former RFEF president justified his hugs and his enthusiasm by saying that “I think Latinos, for a cultural reason, are more inclined to touch each other, it’s normal for a Latino world between men and women.”
Rubiales admitted he felt “embarrassed” by his behavior in the Sydney stadium box, next to Queen Letizia, and about the kiss he insisted “I was wrong and I sincerely apologize.”
“A president can hug, but he should act more diplomatically and coolly,” he added.
Rubiales, who denied that he pressured Hermoso, insisted that “I have full confidence that the truth will come to light and everything will be fine.”
