Women World Cup Kiss: FIFA bans former Spain FA president for three years

RFEF President Luis Rubiales. (Photo by Eidan RUBIO / RFEF / AFP) /

FIFA, yesterday, banned ousted Spanish soccer federation president, Luis Rubiales, from the sport for three years, for misconduct at the Women’s World Cup final, where he forcibly kissed a player on the lips at the trophy ceremony.

FIFA did not publish details of the verdict reached by its disciplinary committee judges, who had investigated charges relating to “basic rules of decent conduct” and “behaving in a way that brings the sport of football and/or FIFA into disrepute.”

“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has banned Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Association (RFEF), from all football-related activities at national and international levels for three years, having found that he acted in breach of article 13 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” FIFA said in a statement.

Rubiales, 46, also is under criminal investigation in Spain for kissing player, Jenni Hermoso, on the lips after the team’s 1-0 victory over England on August 20 in Sydney, Australia. He denied wrongdoing to a judge in Madrid who imposed a restraining order for Rubiales not to contact Hermoso.

At the final whistle in Sydney, Rubiales had grabbed his crotch as a victory gesture in the exclusive section of seats with Queen Letizia of Spain and 16-year-old Princess Sofia standing nearby.

Rubiales was removed from office by FIFA judges during their investigation, and they also cited a third incident — “carrying the Spanish player Athenea del Castillo over his shoulder during the post-match celebrations” — in a ruling to explain why he was provisionally suspended.

The risk of witness tampering by Rubiales and his allies also was cited to justify the interim ban that is now