Luis Rubiales #

Introduction #

Luis Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), was forced out of football after he forcibly kissed Spain forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the medal ceremony at the 2023 Women’s World Cup final — a kiss she said was not consensual . He defied calls to resign for more than three weeks before quitting on 10 September 2023, was suspended and later banned by FIFA, and was convicted of sexual assault by a Spanish court in February 2025 . The affair, known in Spain as the Rubiales case, gave rise to the #SeAcabó (“It’s over”) movement, described as Spain’s #MeToo .

Background Information #

Women’s football in Spain was officially recognised by the RFEF only in 1980, and players spent years complaining about a federation they said did not truly believe in the women’s game . After finishing bottom of their group at the 2015 World Cup the whole team called for the resignation of manager Ignacio Quereda . After a quarter-final exit at Euro 2022, 15 players withdrew from selection, citing the environment around the national team; the federation backed coach Jorge Vilda, and the players were only called up if they apologised. Only three returned for the World Cup . Hermoso later said the incident belonged to “a long list of situations that we players have been denouncing in recent years… This incident is just the straw that broke the camel’s back” .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

On 20 August 2023, Spain beat England in the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney . During the celebrations, Rubiales grabbed his crotch in the authorities’ box near Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter, carried Athenea del Castillo over his shoulder, and — the moment that defined the scandal — grabbed Hermoso by the head with both hands and forcibly kissed her on the lips during the medal ceremony . Hermoso said she had not expected nor liked the kiss, asking “but what am I supposed to do?” . Rubiales first dismissed critics, calling the incident “an unimportant gesture of affection”, before publishing an apology video in which he said: “I have to apologise, learn from this, and understand that when you are president you have to be more careful” .

It then emerged that he had “begged” Hermoso to appear in the video with him; when she refused, the RFEF sent a false statement in her name to the press agency EFE downplaying the incident . FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings on 24 August . The turning point came on 25 August, when an assembly expected to produce his resignation became a defiant speech: he repeated “I’m not going to resign” five times, called the kiss “a peck”, claimed he had her consent, attacked “fake feminism” as the “scourge” of society, and offered Vilda a new four-year contract worth €2 million . Hermoso responded that she felt “vulnerable and a victim of aggression” and that the kiss was “an impulsive act, sexist, out of place and without any type of consent from my part” , branding his account “categorically false and part of the manipulative culture that he himself has generated” . Alexia Putellas tweeted “This is unacceptable. It’s over. With you, teammate @Jennihermoso”, and 81 players — including all 23 of the World Cup-winning squad — refused to play until the federation changed its leadership .

Public Reaction and Consequences #

On 26 August, FIFA suspended Rubiales from all football-related activity for an initial 90 days pending disciplinary proceedings and ordered him not to contact Hermoso . The same day, eleven coaches and technical staff of the women’s teams resigned, citing the “unacceptable attitude and statements” of the federation’s leader . Even Vilda called the kiss “inappropriate and unacceptable”, and Beatriz Álvarez, president of Spain’s women’s league, said: “Luis Rubiales is finished. He has dug his own grave with his acts and his words” . The Spanish government filed a complaint with the sports administrative court seeking his suspension, and politicians across the political spectrum condemned him . #SeAcabó spread into feminist protests across Spain and was described as Spain’s #MeToo; sponsors Iberia and Iberdrola criticised him, and at least 21 clubs called for his removal . Vilda was fired on 5 September and replaced by Montserrat Tomé, the first woman in the role. On 10 September, Rubiales finally resigned from the RFEF and as UEFA vice-president, in a statement with no apology that did not mention Hermoso .

Current Status #

On 30 October 2023, FIFA banned Rubiales from all football-related activities for three years, finding he breached article 13 of its disciplinary code, covering “offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play” . El País reported the sanction reflected the non-consensual kiss, his obscene gestures in the VIP box, and the pressures Hermoso received from the RFEF . Rubiales vowed to appeal: “I will take this as far as I have to in order for justice to be done and for the truth to come out” . A Spanish sports court issued a similar three-year ban in November 2023 .

Prosecutors opened a criminal investigation in August 2023, and Hermoso filed a formal complaint in September . After a trial that opened on 3 February 2025, the court convicted Rubiales of sexual assault on 20 February 2025 — fining him €10,800 and ordering him to stay at least 200 metres from Hermoso and not contact her for 12 months — while acquitting him of coercion; Vilda and two other officials were cleared . The Audiencia Nacional rejected his appeal in June 2025, and he was arrested in April 2024 in a separate corruption investigation, Operation Brody .

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The affair cost Rubiales the RFEF presidency and his UEFA vice-presidency, worth €250,000 a year plus expenses, and left him barred from football and convicted of sexual assault . Beyond his own downfall, the players’ boycott succeeded, the federation’s leadership was overhauled, and #SeAcabó became a national reckoning over sexism and sexual violence . Hermoso returned to the team to score the winning goal against Italy in the Nations League, and the case later became the subject of the documentary “It’s All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football” .