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Fifa Women’s World Cup: Spain PM Sanchez says football boss apology over unsolicited kiss ‘insufficient’
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said what occurred after Spain’s World Cup victory was ‘an unacceptable gesture’
- Luis Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso as he handed the Spanish team gold medals after they beat England 1-0 in the final on Sunday provoking outrage in Spain
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Spanish football federation chief Luis Rubiales’ apology for kissing star player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after Spain won the Fifa Women’s World Cup is “insufficient,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday.
Rubiales, 45, kissed Hermoso as he handed the Spanish team gold medals after they beat England 1-0 in the final on Sunday in Sydney, provoking outrage in Spain. He kissed other players on the cheek or embraced them.
“What we saw was an unacceptable gesture,” Sanchez told a news conference when asked about the controversy over the unsolicited kiss.
“I also think the apologies given by Mr. Rubiales are insufficient. And I even think that they are inappropriate, and that he must go further,” the premier added.
As the controversy over the kiss grew, Rubiales apologised on Monday in a video posted on social media.
“It was done without any ill intention in a moment of the highest exuberance. Here we saw it as natural and normal but outside it has caused a commotion.
“I have no choice but to apologise and to learn from this … and when representing the federation take more care,” he said, adding that he thought the furore was “idiotic”.
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