Society
FIFA Suspends Spanish Football Chief Over World Cup Kiss
- Rubiales says kissing star player on lips was consensual
- Hermoso says she was victim of ‘impulse-driven sexist’
Photographer: Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images
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FIFA provisionally suspended Luis Rubiales, the head of Spain’s football association, following a week of controversy over his behavior at the Women’s World Cup final, including kissing one of the team’s star players on the lips.
The suspension from all football-related activities is effective immediately and will initially last for 90 days while the disciplinary committee of football’s governing body conducts an investigation of Rubiales, according to a FIFA statement Saturday. FIFA announced the review Thursday amid outrage sparked by Rubiales celebrating Spain’s victory by kissing Jennifer Hermoso on the lips and making an obscene gesture of grabbing his crotch after a Spanish goal.