Laurence Dollimore
THE mother of Luis Rubiales finally made an appearance last night shortly before 8pm on Tuesday as her hunger strike enters its third day.
Dozens of journalists gathered outside the doors of the room where Angeles Bejar had been tucked away inside the Iglesia de la Divina Pastora in Motril, Granada.
She had locked herself away on Monday morning in protest at the ‘inhuman witch hunt’ against her son and Spanish FA chief over his public behaviour after Spain won the Women’s World Cup.
The defiant grandmother appeared dishevelled and was still wearing the same green dress from the day she began her hunger strike.
Chaos ensued as a wave of cameramen piled on top of one another in a bid to get a shot of the woman, who is demanding that footballer Jenni Hermoso ‘tell the truth’ about the ‘non consensual’ kiss her son planted on her while celebrating their victory in the women’s World Cup final.
Ángeles said: “I want her to tell the truth”, adding that she will continue her strike as much as her body can endure.
She said she has spoken to her son and that he is ‘very worried’ about her.
She insisted that she was ‘okay’, after having met with a doctor earlier that day.
When asked how she felt about videos of Ms Hermoso celebrating with Luis after the controversial kiss, she said ‘it’s very bad’, before becoming visibly emotional.
Due to her ongoing hunger strike she said that she’s only consuming water, isotonic drinks and medication
Bejar had suffered a previous trauma in June when her Motril home was broken into and smashed up.
The event occurred just hours after a Spanish court had dismissed a wrongful dismissal case brought by her brother, Juan Rubiales, against the RFEF, where he had worked as a press officer.
Luis Rubiales’ uncle had been fired after being accused of leaking confidential information with the aim of damaging his nephew’s reputation.
Juan Rubiales denied having anything to do with the incident, which was reportedly left almost uninhabitable due to the damage done to ceilings, walls and furnishings.
Last year Juan Rubiales told an anti-corruption trial in Madrid that Luis had illegally used RFEF funds to rent a luxury villa for an ‘orgy’.
The party, attended by bigwigs of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, had allegedly, ‘eight to 10 young girls’ bussed in by a friend of Rubiales.
The series of wild nights, which went on until 6am and broke Covid rules, was anything but popular with angry neighbours, the Olive Press can reveal.
“I remember when he was here, the noise was crazy,” one neighbour told the Olive Press today.
“Boom, boom, boom until the early hours, there was lots of music, drinking and lots of girls.
The local, who only gave her name as Maria, said the property is owned by an Italian businesswoman.
She added: “It was during the Covid pandemic and it was annoying but we did not call the police because that’s not the kind of neighbours we are.”
A local Spanish estate agent, who asked not to be named added: ‘This is an exclusive neighbourhood where Luis knows he is not going to get into any trouble.
“I could hear them all laughing and partying until five or six in the morning. They were here for a couple of days.”
“His family are so well known and loved here, they hold a lot of influence.”
The roll call of powerful figures now lining up against Rubiales has grown after even his own officials within the RFEF called on him to resign.
The heads of the regional bodies that make up the federation made the request in a collective statement following an extraordinary general meeting yesterday afternoon.
“After the latest developments and the unacceptable behaviour that has caused great damage to the image of Spanish soccer, the presidents request that Luis Rubiales resign immediately as president of the RFEF,” the statement said.
READ MORE:
- REVEALED: The luxury villa overlooking Spain’s Costa Tropical where Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales allegedly held sordid sex parties
- Protests and counter protests across Spain as Luis Rubiales sexism controversy rumbles on
- Finally: Spain’s Football Federation calls on under-fire chairman Luis Rubiales to quit
