Football’s ruling body FIFA suspends Spanish federation chief over kiss

MADRID: Football’s ruling world body FIFA said on Saturday it had suspended Spanish federation chief Luis Rubiales from all football-related activities for three months as it investigates an incident in which he kissed player Jenni Hermoso after Spain’s Women’s World Cup victory.
The suspension from national and international activities takes effect immediately from Saturday, FIFA said in a statement on the action taken by disciplinary committee chief Jorge Ivan Palacio.
FIFA had opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales on Thursday over his actions last Sunday in Sydney.
Rubiales has been defiant over the kiss — which has been condemned as unwanted by Hermoso, her teammates and the Spanish government — arguing it was consensual.

Earlier on Saturday the federation he heads had said it would stick by him.
However, after the FIFA statement, a spokesperson for the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said “We respect all the pronouncements of FIFA.”
In a statement hours before the FIFA move, the federation had said it would show there have been lies told about what happened by Hermoso or people speaking for her.
The statement, issued on the RFEF website, said it would take appropriate legal action to defend Rubiales’ honor, but did not say what the action would consist of.
Rubiales refused on Friday to resign as RFEF chief, seeking to defend his behavior and calling the kiss “spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and consensual.”
Hermoso said she did not consent to the kiss and felt “vulnerable and the victim of an aggression.”
The Spanish government cannot fire Rubiales but has strongly denounced his actions and said on Friday it was seeking to get him suspended using a legal procedure before a sports tribunal.
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