Walter Finch
SPANISH Football Federation chief Luis Rubiales has channelled his inner Leo Dicaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street by dramatically refusing to resign.
Speaking at an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Spanish FA in Madrid on Friday, amid reports that he would hand in his notice, Rubiales spent a full 15 seconds repeating the phrase: “I’m not going to resign!”
He also once again downplayed the lip kiss he planted on Jenni Hermoso as she collected her World Cup winner’s medal after the final on Sunday.
Rubiales was defiant despite the fact that acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had described his apologies as ‘insufficient’ and ‘inadequate’ and Fifa had already begun proceedings against him.
Yet despite the writing on the wall, the ‘huge ego’ doubled down on his original defence and even offered unpopular women’s coach Jorge Vilda a new €500,000-a-year contract.
Referring to the kiss as just a ‘peck’, he rounded on what he described as ‘false feminism’, calling it the ‘great scourge of this country.’
“False feminism does not look for justice or truth,” he said to applause from the federation suits in the audience.
He also repeated several times that he was the victim of a ‘social assassination.’
“I say, what have I done?” he said. “Is a consensual peck enough to get me out of here? I will fight to the end.”
He went on to make the claim – refused by Hermoso – that the kiss was mutual and in fact the player had initiated it after grabbing and hugging him.
“She was the one who lifted me up and brought me closer to her body. And I said to her: ‘a little bit?’ and she said, ‘okay’,” he said at the podium.
“You’re great (eres un crack),” Rubiales then claimed Hermoso whispered to him.
However, Hermoso came out yesterday in a statement through her union and agency demanding ‘exemplary measures’ against Rubiales.
Various clubs and federations had announced that they intended to snub Rubiales’ Extraordinary General Meeting, in which he had expected to shore up his support among the football executive class.
Instead, an immediate backlash was launched upon Rubiales’ defiant – and tone deaf – refusal to go.
“Mr. Rubiales still does not know where he is or what he has done. It is not up to scratch. You should resign now and save us the embarrassment,” Sumar leader Yolanda Diez said on Twitter.
“My ears are bleeding,” said former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.
La Liga President Javier Tebas, with whom Rubiales already had a longstanding beef, slammed Rubiales for the ‘misogynistic gestures, the profane expressions, the protocol disaster and the insults of this latest global embarrassment.’
READ MORE:
- Spain’s football chief Luis Rubiales to quit after causing international sexism storm
- Soccer’s world governing body FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Luis Rubiales in Spanish sexist kissing scandal
