Fifa’s Disciplinary Committee has opened disciplinary proceedings against Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish FA, following his unsolicited kiss on Women’s World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso, the global soccer body said on Thursday.
The incident – which happened as Rubiales was presenting the players with their gold medals after they beat England 1-0 in the final on Sunday — sparked outrage within and outside Spain, with Hermoso saying such acts should “never go unpunished”.
“The FIFA disciplinary committee informed Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Football Association, today that it is opening disciplinary proceedings against him based on the events that occurred during the final,” world football’s governing body said in a statement.
FIFA said the incident “may constitute violations of article 13 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the FIFA disciplinary code”.
Rubiales, who initially called his critics “idiots”, issued a video apology late on Monday, but it failed to quell the uproar.
Spain star Hermoso released a joint statement with union Futpro on Wednesday, which called for action to be taken against the RFEF president.
“We are working to ensure that acts such as those we have seen never go unpunished, that they are sanctioned and that the exemplary measures are adopted to protect women footballers from actions that we believe are unacceptable,” she said.
