The FIFA Disciplinary Committee decided on Spain’s soccer president, Luis Rubiales, after he had kissed a female player after their country won the Women’s World Cup.
Rubiales later tried to apologize, but it was too late; the damage had been done, and now he had to pay for his actions. FIFA has decided to suspend Rubiales. The defiant Rubiales will be temporarily barred from participating in soccer events worldwide for 90 days.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee issued a statement Saturday saying Rubiales was provisionally suspended from “all football-related activities at national and international level.” His initial suspension is for 90 days, pending the results of an investigation launched on August 24.
FIFA also said the Royal Spanish Soccer Federation president might have violated rules about “offensive behavior and violations of the principles of fair play.”
After his apologies didn’t work, Rubiales became defiant when asked to step down. The organization has gone after the player, but still, the women’s soccer team threatened to strike if something wasn’t done about Rubiales’ behavior.
Despite the popularity of women’s soccer around the globe, female soccer players still have to deal with these kinds of incidents from their male counterparts; at least in this case, FIFA didn’t let this incident linger too long and moved swiftly with a solution. Their response will be interesting.
