The incident of the kiss between the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, and international player Jenny Hermoso does not affect the joint candidacy for the 2030 World Cup, a source in the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) told Lusa this Thursday.
Asked by Lusa, an official FPF source downplayed the impact of the controversy on the joint candidacy of Portugal, Spain, Ukraine and Morocco: “A candidacy for the 2030 World Cup is a project that is above any person or position.”
In 2024, FIFA will announce who will nominate this organization, the second tournament to feature 48 countries instead of the 32 that competed in Qatar, after this expanded format was opened in 2026.
“It was born at the behest of the federations, but today it is a candidate for countries aspiring to host the world’s biggest sporting event, and nothing will stand in the way of the desire to organize the best World Cup in history,” the same source added.
Rubiales will tender his resignation on Friday, federal sources told EFE this Thursday.
The leader, elected in May 2018, will announce the decision at the RFEF Extraordinary General Meeting, scheduled for Friday, at the organization’s headquarters, in the football city of Las Rozas, in Madrid, from 12:00 local time. time (11:00 Lisbon).
The sacking was sparked by a row on Sunday when Rubiales kissed Jenny Hermoso without her consent shortly after Spain’s women’s team won the World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand.
After the incident, Rubiales became the object of numerous criticisms from various parties: from the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez, to various public and political figures, including Jenny Hermoso herself, who devalued the situation at the first stage, but on Wednesday he turned to the Spanish footballers’ union (FUTPRO) asking for sanctions against Rubiales.
The Women’s Professional Football League (League F) has also filed a complaint with the Supreme Sports Council demanding that Luis Rubiales be disqualified for “dirty and shameful behaviour”.
Similarly, FIFA launched a disciplinary investigation this Thursday against the president of the RFEF, considering that these facts “may constitute a violation of paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 13 of the disciplinary code” of the organization, alluding to the fact that such behavior could “damage the dignity or inviolability” of a person on the basis of his gender.