The Rubiales story is not just the biggest story on Spanish television; it is pretty much the only story. I didn’t know who they guy was before this incident, but you now can’t turn on a tv without seeing his face.
I first saw the kiss live when he did it. My initial reaction was “what the fu**?” It so clearly was not consensual. You do not grab the back of a woman’s head forcefully and push it into yours in a consensual kiss. I think if he had immediately apologized for it and said it happened in the emotions which overcame him at that moment, he might have gotten through it. But, he exacerbated it with every statement he made. They have a habit of having 2 to 4 panelists briefly discuss news on some big stories after they show the stories. My Spanish isn’t good but doesn’t have to be to see none of them are defending him.
And, it’s carried over into other areas. Today the Minister of Public Works, a woman, had a press conference on some new project being built. The first question was about Rubiales. You don’t need to know much Spanish to tell she was disgusted by what he did and by him.
81 members of the National Team signed a letter stating they will not play again unless he is fired. That is every player in the national team and the U-20 team. The Sevilla and Cadiz men’s teams both wore anti-Rubiales shirts during warmups. It’s getting bigger every day.
Rubiales face doesn’t help. He seems to have this perpetual smirk on his face like “I can do what I want and no one can do anything about it.” He has the kind of face that needs to be punched. Hard.
He held a special meeting of his federation today where he gave what was described as a defiant speech. When he came into the room about 1/3 of the audience, sitting in the front, gave him a standing ovation. So did a few people on the stage. You got to figure those people in the front were his hand-picked supporters. But, if it was supposed to demonstrate an overwhelming show of support, it failed miserably
He is a dead man walking. The faster he realizes it the less painful the ultimate outcome will be. Spanish Federation presidents make a lot of under the table money. They vote on where the Wotld Cup gets played. Anyone not think Russia and Qatar paid big time for those votes. Rubiales doesn’t want to lose that cash flow. He hasn’t gotten to vote on a WC site yet. But, he won’t last out the month of September.
