The disgraced Luis Rubiales has resigned, but he is not a “good guy” and it is not up to him to decide whether he attacked

FINALLY Luis Rubiales jumped.
He says he did it because he was a distraction when in reality he was a disgrace.
Most of us had figured this out almost three weeks ago.
It’s not that I’m in favor of firing people with immediate effect as soon as there are signs of misconduct.
We all make mistakes.
But Rubiales’ claim that he is innocent and “a good guy” just isn’t enough, in my opinion.
Of course he would say that now, right?
The kiss he placed on Jenni Hermoso’s lips made me cringe audibly and sent shivers down my spine.
It’s one thing to be caught up in the euphoria of the moment, but quite another to actually forcibly slap someone in the mouth.
It was such an invasion of personal space – grabbing her hand – just moments after he grabbed his crotch as he sat next to the Queen of Spain and her 16-year-old daughter.
What Rubiales failed to understand in this long-winded story is that it is not up to him to decide whether there was any aggression – sexual or otherwise – associated with his actions.
That is the job of the person on the receiving end.
Abusers do not have the right to say what is acceptable and what is not.
Of course we know that football has a problem with women and needs a culture change to get rid of sexism and misogyny.
It needs a fundamental overhaul.
Rubiales is just a branch cutting.
Wrong, but keep it in perspective
By Laura Dodsworth
I sympathize with Jenni Hermoso.
When I was 21, my first male boss pinned me to the wall at work and tried to stick his tongue in my mouth.
In Hermoso’s words: I didn’t enjoy it.
Rubiales’ behavior was inappropriate, even if it was a true expression of Latin exuberance.
With the cameras rolling and given his elation, Hermoso might have felt like she had to accept a kiss that she normally wouldn’t have agreed to.
But to get a better perspective, it only lasted a second or two, it happened after a hug and before a slap on the shoulder.
Kissing is more common in some countries (e.g. Spain) and is also a jubilant reaction to success.
Remember Maradona and his teammate Claudio Caniggia sharing a kiss after scoring a goal?
Gary Neville even slapped Paul Scholes.
None of these celebratory kisses caused a scandal.
Although they did not have the same power imbalance, they could have caused a backlash of a different kind. But they didn’t.
Rubiales should have thought more humbly about the implications of that kiss and apologized unequivocally.
Yet he steadfastly refused to resign.
And instead of being seen as a football hero, Hermoso was portrayed as a victim.


One problem with the #MeToo scandals in the US was that they lumped together too wide a spectrum of sexual misconduct.
This kiss sparked Spain’s #MeToo moment, but it shouldn’t spark a Spanish inquisition.