There has been a bit of a controversy in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. While the tournament successfully concluded with Spain beating England in a face off between the maiden finalists at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Sunday (August 20), what happened after the match has raised eyebrows. The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales was caught on the camera kissing Spanish midfielder Jennifer Hermoso on the lips after she received her gold medal.
The incident has cast a dark shadow on an otherwise happy and momentous occasion for the Spanish women's football team who defeated England 1-0 in the summit clash to win their maiden World Cup trophy. And now Hermoso has said that she wasn't comfortable with what happened. She expressed her views in an Instagram live where he said that she did not like when quizzed about the kiss.
"It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that winning a World Cup brings," she was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
"The president and I have a great relationship, his behaviour with all of us has been outstanding and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude," she added.
Notably, this isn't the only incident for which Rubiales has been subject to criticism. Clips which have made their way on social media show him kissing other members of the Spanish squad on the cheeks, even holding some of them in his arms which have led to eyebrows being raised by Spanish fans and critics who reckoned that Rubiales crossed the professional line. Despite the criticism though, Rubiales has defended his actions after the match. He has labelled his critics as "idiots" while describing the controversial moment in question as a "moment of affection without any importance."