\nSpain coach Luis de la Fuente apologised on Friday for praising football federation president Luis Rubiales\u2019 speech in which he stated he would not resign.
\nThe apology came after nationwide outrage on Rubiales\u2019 unsolicited kiss on Women\u2019s World Cup player Jenni Hermoso\u2019s lips last week.
\n\u201cI have to say sorry, I made a mistake, it\u00b4s inexcusable,\u201d De la Fuente told a news conference, also confirming he would not resign.
\nWhen he forcibly kissed Spain midfielder Hermoso on the cheek during the Women\u2019s World Cup medal ceremony in Sydney on August 20, Rubiales, 46, incited fury all around the world.
\nThe head of the Spanish football federation (RFEF) incited more outrage with a belligerent address at an emergency meeting in which he refused to resign in the face of rising criticism and instead railed against \u201cfalse feminism,\u201d to which De la Fuente cheered.
\nHermoso said that Rubiales\u2019 kiss was not consensual and that she felt like the \u201cvictim of an assault\u201d despite Rubiales\u2019 insistence that it was.
\nFIFA, the organisation that oversees international football, temporarily suspended Rubiales for 90 days, and De la Fuente responded by attacking the president in a statement.
\nDe la Fuente\u2019s position, according to several detractors, notably Yolanda Diaz, the second deputy prime minister of Spain, was untenable.
\n\u201cI received heavy criticism for (applauding) and I think that it\u00b4s totally deserved, I understand it, I apologise for it, it was unjustifiable,\u201d said De la Fuente.
\n\u201cI came to the assembly convinced that we were seeing the goodbye of a president and it turned into the opposite.\u201d
\nDe la Fuente, 62, said the situation generated \u201cemotional stress\u201d and surprised those present.
\n\u201cI arrived thinking it would be a resignation and we went into shock when we saw it wasn\u00b4t like that,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cI was not at the right level and I could not control my emotions. Later when you look and you see yourself on the cameras… I didn\u00b4t recognise myself.\u201d
\nDe la Fuente will \u201ctotally\u201d be remaining, according to interim RFEF president Pedro Rocha, who added that he would be seeing women\u2019s team coach Jorge Vilda the following week.
\nDespite the squad winning the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, reports in Spain claim Vilda may soon be fired.
\nDue to the Rubiales incident, more than 80 players from the women\u2019s team are currently on strike, while Real Betis striker Borja Iglesias has declared he will not participate in the men\u2019s team.
\n\u201cI think he will want to come if he is called up, but I always stand for freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of thought,\u201d added De la Fuente, who did not select the forward in his squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers later in September.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente apologised on Friday for praising football federation president Luis Rubiales\u2019 speech in which he stated he would not resign. The apology came after nationwide outrage on Rubiales\u2019 unsolicited kiss on Women\u2019s World Cup player Jenni Hermoso\u2019s lips last week. \u201cI have to say sorry, I made a mistake, it\u00b4s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-353251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n