Spain men’s national team head coach Luis de la Fuente has apologized after he was seen applauding last week’s defiant speech by embattled Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales.
Rubiales was reported to be on the verge of resigning over his kiss on the lips of Spain star Jenni Hermoso after the World Cup final — an act Hermoso has insisted was not consensual.
Instead, the RFEF president delivered a diatribe in which he insisted he wouldn’t resign, called out “false feminists” who opposed him and declared that Hermoso had consented to the kiss, among many other talking points.
As Rubiales went on, he was applauded by a host of Spanish officials in the crowd, including de la Fuente and Spain’s women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda.
Amid heavy criticism, de la Fuente has offered an apology for his seeming endorsement of Rubiales’s speech though, much like Rubiales himself, the Spain men’s coach has insisted he will not resign.
“I have been criticized harshly for it. I believe that criticism was deserved, I understand it and I apologize,” de la Fuente said at a press conference on Friday after he named his roster for Euro 2024 qualifiers against Georgia and Cyprus.
“I don’t think I have to resign. I don’t have to resign, I have to ask for forgiveness,” he added. “Right now, if I could go back, I wouldn’t [applaud], I’m sure of it. I’ve made reference to it before: I’m on the side of equality and respect.”
Rubiales has been handed a provisional 90-day suspension by FIFA, and the entire Spain women’s national team has gone on strike until he is ousted.
De la Fuente added that he has not yet reached out to Hermoso.
“She is going through a difficult moment,” the coach said, then added: “Perhaps I lacked courage [to reach out to her].”
[lawrence-related id=27216,26749,26711]