Criticism is mounting on Royal Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales after his apology for forcibly kissing Jennifer Hermoso as the team collected their winner’s medals at the Women’s World Cup failed to convince.
The federation also announced late Tuesday night that it will convene an Extraordinary General Assembly on Friday afternoon, likely to formally address the incident. It also said that relevant internal proceedings surrounding Rubiales’ actions were opened.
The announcement comes after a wave of condemnation from around the world. The strongest criticism yet of Rubiales came from Spain’s acting second deputy minister Yolanda Diaz, who said the event earned “our most resounding condemnation,” per ESPN. “Nothing more and nothing less, a woman has been harassed and assaulted. [Rubiales’] excuses are useless. What we ask is for the sports law to be applied and for the Sport’s federation protocols to be activated. This person should resign.”
Diaz is one of several government officials in Spain who have criticized Rubiales, including acting prime minister Pedro Sanchez. “It shows that in our country there’s a long way to go in terms of equality and respect between men and women,” Sanchez…
