Top officials in Spain’s football association called on their disgraced chief, Luis Rubiales, to resign after kissing a player on the lips at the Women’s World Cup final.
The announcement by the heads of the regional bodies is a major blow for Rubiales because until now they were considered as his most loyal backers and many owe him their jobs.
“After the latest developments and the unacceptable behavior that has caused great damage to the image of Spanish soccer, the presidents request that Luis Rubiales resign immediately as president,” they said in a late-night statement on Monday.
These were the same men that on Friday were among an audience that clapped when a defiant Rubiales declared he had no intention of quitting for the kiss he pressed on Jennifer Hermoso, one of the team’s star players. She said it was done without her consent. He insists otherwise.
The regional associations technically control the national organization and their presidents pick the chief of the Spanish football association. Their U-turn demonstrates that a bastion of support for Rubiales has now crumbled.
On Saturday, football’s world governing body Fifa suspended him for 90 days. That came a day after the World Cup champions said they would not play for Spain again until Rubiales left and most of the association’s top management was changed.
He still enjoys backing of his mother, who decided to go on a hunger strike inside a church, and has vowed to go without food until Hermoso retracts her statement.
