The president of the Spanish football federation has defended himself against what he's branded 'bullsh*t' after coming under fire for kissing footballer Jenni Hermoso.
Luis Rubiales encountered Hermoso after Spain beat England 1-0 to secure their first-ever win in the women's World Cup yesterday (20 August).
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After Hermoso received her medal from FIFA president Gianni Infantino, she was seen chatting to Rubiales before he put his arms around her and planted a kiss on her lips.
The move sparked outrage online, with fans and journalists branding the move inappropriate and unnecessary.
Nadia Tronchoni, who leads sports coverage at the newspaper El País, described the kiss as an 'intrusion', adding: “[It's] an invasion of one’s personal space. Without consent. An aggression.”
In the wake of the backlash, Rubiales was questioned about the incident by various outlets and hit back to defend himself.
Speaking to the Spanish programme El Partidazo, the football boss said he would 'not pay attention to the idiots'.
He continued: "It's a peak of two friends celebrating something. We're not here for bulls***. Me, with everything I've been through, more bulls*** and more a**holes, no.
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"Let's ignore it and enjoy the good stuff and don't even tell me things about losers who can't see [the positive].
"It is a thing without evil. If there are fools, let them continue with their nonsense. There are more fools than windows. Let's pay attention to those who are not fools. It is something without evil and nonsense."
Rubiales added that people were 'wasting time' by discussing the incident.
He further dismissed the backlash in an interview with Radio Marca, when he commented: "The kiss with Jenni? There are idiots everywhere.
"When two people have an insignificant show of affection, we cannot pay attention to idiocy. We are champions, and with that, I stay."
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For her part, Hermoso laughed about the incident in an Instagram livestream, but commented: “I didn’t like it."
She also offered her own defence of Rubiales when she described the kiss as a 'natural gesture of affection'.
“It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that winning a World Cup brings,” she said in comments given to AFP by the Spanish federation.
“The president and I have a great relationship, his behaviour with all of us has been outstanding and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.
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“A gesture of friendship and gratitude cannot be gone over so much, we have won a World Cup and we are not going to deviate from what is important.”
Topics: Football, World Cup, Sport, World News
Emily Brown