Spain’s Jenni Hermoso has called for strong action against Luis Rubiales, the President of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), after he kissed her on the lips without her consent following Spain’s victory at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. The FUTPRO union, representing football players, has supported Hermoso’s demand for “exemplary measures” to be taken against Rubiales for his inappropriate conduct.

The incident took place as Rubiales awarded the players their gold medals after Spain’s triumph over England in the final match, causing widespread outrage both within and outside Spain. Calls for Rubiales’ resignation poured in from various quarters, including government officials.

In a joint statement issued by FUTPRO and her agency TMJ, Hermoso expressed her union’s commitment to ensuring that such acts are never tolerated, emphasising that women footballers deserve protection from such unacceptable behaviour. FUTPRO is set to meet with Spain’s second deputy leader Yolanda Diaz to ensure appropriate consequences for Rubiales’ actions.

“My union FUTPRO, in coordination with my agency TMJ, are taking care of defending my interests and have taken over as my interlocutors on this matter.” Hermoso said in a joint statement released by the union and her agency, according to Reuters.

“We are working to ensure that acts such as those we have seen never go unpunished, that they are sanctioned and that the exemplary measures are adopted to protect women footballers from actions that we believe are unacceptable.”

Despite Rubiales issuing a video apology, acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticised it as insufficient during a news conference. Sanchez called for a clearer and more convincing apology from Rubiales and highlighted that the Spanish government lacks the authority to directly intervene in the matter due to the autonomous nature of the football federation.

“We have seen his apology and that is not enough, he must be much clearer and convincing in apologising. He must take more steps to clarify a behaviour that is unacceptable,” Sanchez said.