Spain’s Ex-Football President, Who Forcibly Kissed A Woman Player, Was Egged At His Book Launch
Rubiales said the man was his uncle Luis Rubén Rubiales, an actor known in Spain, adding that his uncle egged him because he is a "deranged" person.
Spain’s ex-football president Luis Rubiales, who was found guilty of sexual assault for forcibly kissing a woman player after Spain’s Women’s World Cup win in August 2023, was egged at the presentation of his new book.
Rubiales caused a public uproar when he kissed Spanish woman player Jennifer Hermoso on the lips without her consent at the medal ceremony after the team’s World Cup win on Aug. 20, 2023.
Hermoso said the kiss was without her consent and filed a legal complaint against Rubiales on Sep. 5, 2023, saying she felt “disrespected”.
Women in Spain then took to the streets in support of Hermoso, calling for Rubiales’ resignation.
He initially refused to resign as Spain’s football president, saying the kiss was “spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and consented”.
Rubiales finally resigned a few days after Spanish prosecutors opened a sexual assault case against him on Sep. 10, 2023.
On Feb. 20, he was found guilty of sexual assault and fined €10,000 (about US$10,434).
The judge ruled that due to the “sporadic” nature of the kiss, Rubiales did not need rehabilitation or imprisonment for the crime, but a monetary penalty would suffice, according to Reuters.
He was also given a restraining order against Hermoso, banned from contacting her for one year and required to pay her €3,000 (about US$3,133).
On Thursday, Nov. 13, in Madrid, Spain, Rubiales was presenting his memoir "Matar a Rubiales", or “Killing Rubiales” in English, a 500-page about his professional downfall after forcibly kissing Hermoso, in which he claims he was the victim of a "conspiracy of different powers of Spanish public life" including the government and "the profitable world of feminism," according to CBS.
A video from the presentation went viral when a man suddenly threw three eggs at Rubiales.
The man was quickly apprehended by the audience as Rubiales tried to chase after him.
Rubiales said the man was his uncle Luis Rubén Rubiales, an actor known in Spain, adding that his uncle egged him because he is a "deranged" person.
Police arrested the man, but did not confirm the family connection.
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