Luis Rubiales, President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation attends FIFA Women’s World Cup.Photo:Maja Hitij - FIFA/FIFA via Getty
Maja Hitij - FIFA/FIFA via Getty
The mother of Spanish soccer presidentLuis Rubialeswas reportedly taken to the hospital on the third day of her hunger strike in protest ofFIFA’s decision to suspend her sonfor 90 daysafter he kissed player Jenni Hermosoon the lips at the World Cup final.
Angeles Bejar announced her decision to go on a hunger strikewhile locking herself in the Divina Pastora church on Monday, and according toReuters, Bejar was admitted to the Santa Ana hospital in Motril, Spain, near where she raised Rubiales, 46.
A local priest who identified himself as Father Antonio toldreportersthat Bejar was feeling “tired and stressed out” during the solo strike, leading to her hospitalization on Wednesday evening.
According to Spanish news outletMundo Deportivo, Bejar, a retired hairdresser, was expected to give a conference regarding her strike before falling ill.
“She had not been feeling well because of the heat and everything else,” the priest told reporters, per Mundo Deportivo. “Her feet had become swollen and she was very tired.”
Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales kisses Jenni Hermoso after Spain win the FIFA Womens World Cup 2023 final football match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia.Richard Callis / SPP/Sipa USA via AP
Richard Callis / SPP/Sipa USA via AP
Father Antonio added that Bejar “had also become very nervous” amid the situation and said he wasn’t sure if she was transported to the hospital via ambulance or not.
The priest also relayed that Bejar will not return to the church, even if her health improved, Reuters reported.
Prior to her medical emergency, Bejar said she would protest her son’s suspension “as long as my body holds out,” in a message on WhatsApp, according to the Spanish outlet. She added, “I don’t mind dying for justice because my son is a decent person and it’s not fair what they’re doing.”
Despite multiple reports that he would agree to his resignation, Rubialesrefused to step downat an emergency assembly.
“I’ve come under a lot of pressure. Perhaps somebody will look to remove me on Monday. But we live in a country of laws. Is a consensual kiss enough to remove me? I’m going to fight until the end. I hope the law is followed, and that as there’s no reason to [remove me], it won’t happen,” he said during his speech to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF),per ESPN.
The president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, gives a press conference at the Extraordinary General Assembly.Europa Press via AP
Europa Press via AP
FIFA issued astatementconfirming that Rubiales will face a 90-day suspension barring him “from all football-related activities at national and international level,” beginning Saturday.
Rubiales was also told “to refrain, through himself or third parties, from contacting or attempting to contact the professional player of the Spanish national football team Ms. Jennifer Hermoso or her close environment,” per FIFA’s statement.
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Hermosoissued her own statementFriday on Twitter, now known as X, writing in Spanish that “in no moment did I consent to the kiss that he gave me and in no moment did I try to pick up the president,” according toPBS.
Luis Rubiales, President of the Royal Spanish Federation greets Aitana Bonmati of Spain after the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Final match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia.Catherine Ivill/Getty
Catherine Ivill/Getty
“Simply put, I was not respected,” she wrote. “I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out of place act without any consent on my part.”
Hermoso added that she had been pressured to release “a joint statement” that “could justify” the president’s actions. “Under no circumstances can it be my responsibility to bear the consequences of conveying something I do not believe in, which is why I have refused the pressures received,” she wrote.
source: people.com
