<figure id="attachment_331949" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-331949" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5f5475d6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/09/edacac650567685295bf7360a39a556c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-331949" class="wp-caption-text">The problematic kiss of the former chairman (PHOTO: Kyodo News)</figcaption></figure>
<p> It has been about a month since the uproar broke out.</p>
<p> Instead of settling the situation, the parties involved have been pouring fuel on the fire by repeating their own allegations. The trouble is that Rubiales, 46, the former president of Spain&#8217;s first-winning women&#8217;s World Cup soccer team, kissed one of the team&#8217;s main players.</p>
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<p><strong> The trouble happened at the victory ceremony on August 20. When Rubiales went up on the podium, he embraced the players one after another and kissed them on the cheeks and neck. He hugged Hermoso (33) and pulled her face into his arms and kissed her on the lips.</strong></p>
<p><strong> When this video was shown, criticism poured in from all over the world, asking if it was sexual harassment. Hermoso also took to his social networking site and wrote, &#8220;I am a victim of sexism. I am a defenseless victim. Rubiales, who received domestic and international condemnation, expressed his remorse by releasing a video in which he once said, &#8216;I made a mistake'&#8221; (reporter for a sports newspaper).</strong></p>
<h2> Let&#8217;s kiss lightly.&#8221;</h2>
<p> However, at an extraordinary general meeting of the Spanish Football Federation held on August 25, Rubiales changed his stance. I will not resign! he exclaimed five times, and then he intensified his insistence as follows: &#8220;&#8216;I will not resign (as president).</p>
<p><strong> I asked him if I could kiss him lightly, and he said, &#8216;OK. Everything was consensual.</strong></p>
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<p> Rubiales was interviewed by The Sun immediately afterward.</p>
<p><strong> I meant it in the same way that I kissed my own daughter. It&#8217;s normal to kiss your friends and family. Look at my face. I am a good man.</strong></p>
<p> In response to Rubiales&#8217; claims, Hermoso again refuted them. Hermoso again refuted Mr. Rubiales&#8217; allegations and filed a criminal complaint against him for sexual assault, claiming that he had never given his consent. The court accepted the complaint and asked Mr. Rubiales to appear in court.</p>
<p><strong> In response to the charges, Mr. Rubiales resigned from his position as president on September 10. However, he is not satisfied with his resignation. He appeared on the British news channel &#8220;TalkSport&#8221; shortly after. It was an act of euphoria. There was no harm done. There was 100% no sexual intent. I want to convey the truth that both parties consented. He stubbornly refuses to make a formal apology to Hermoso.</strong></p>
<p> At one point, the &#8220;kissing fiasco&#8221; by the former president developed into a situation in which the Spanish women&#8217;s national team players announced a boycott of the games. If the court finds him guilty of sexual assault, Rubiales could face up to four years in prison.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Lifting a female athlete and patting her on the buttocks...shocking photos"></div>
<figure id="attachment_331950" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-331950" style="width: 3000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e27f10e5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/09/01d35d9d30d5438228535a2c31a98ea2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-331950" class="wp-caption-text">Lifting female athletes&#8230;&#8230; (PHOTO: Jiji Press)</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_331951" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-331951" style="width: 6000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1868bc25"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/09/86d5351dee141dfe85dd7a61044dca3e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-331951" class="wp-caption-text"> Female athletes meet with the minister in charge of sports (PHOTO: Reuters/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_331953" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-331953" style="width: 5713px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="60d6da14"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/09/9c47e25c4e16648470e948e5d781188c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-331953" class="wp-caption-text"> Protests against the Spanish Football Federation at home and abroad (PHOTO：Reuters/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
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 Kyodo News, Jiji Press, Reuters/Afro

 It's been a month since a former Spanish soccer president kissed a female player and caused a huge uproar. The situation has not been settled, but has become even more serious. The former president of Spain's soccer team claimed in the media and elsewhere that he had consented to the incident. What is his side of the story?

I&#8217;m a good man,&#8221; &#8220;No harm done,&#8221; &#8230; Spanish ex-football president&#8217;s bitter response to &#8220;forcible kissing&#8221; of female players.

I’m a good man,” “No harm done,” … Spanish ex-football president’s bitter response to “forcible kissing” of female players.

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