Luis Rubiales, Spain’s suspended football federation president, has stated that he will continue to defend himself to prove the truth after the country’s top sports court opened an investigation into his forcible kiss on the lips of player Jenni Hermoso.
Rubiales, who was provisionally suspended from his post by FIFA for 90 days after kissing Hermoso following Spain’s Women’s World Cup final win, is being investigated by Spain’s sports court, while the top criminal court has opened a preliminary probe into the incident.
In a statement published by El Mundo, Rubiales apologized for his behavior in Sydney but reiterated his belief that the kiss was consensual, while Hermoso has stated that she felt like a “victim of an assault.”
He stated that he has learned that sports leaders should be held to exemplary behavior and that he regrets his mistakes. Rubiales maintains that the kiss was a mutual and consensual act and expresses confidence in the independence of the bodies handling the matter.