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Luis Rubiales \u201cforcefully kissed\u201d England\u2019s Lucy Bronze and \u201ccupped and stroked\u201d her teammate Laura Coombs at the Women\u2019s World Cup final, the English Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt has claimed.<\/p>\n
The allegations have emerged in a Fifa disciplinary report into the actions of Rubiales, who was handed a three-year ban from football in October.<\/p>\n
The report said Rubiales had acted with \u201ca sense of complete impunity\u201d at the Spain v England match on 20 August in Sydney. He grabbed his genitals in celebration of Spain\u2019s victory while stood in the VIP area and kissed midfielder Jennifer Hermoso on the lips during the medal presentation. Hermoso has said she did not consent to the kiss.<\/p>\n
In a written submission to the committee, Hewitt was quoted saying she watched as Rubiales \u201ccupped and stroked\u201d the face of the England player Laura Coombs.<\/p>\n
Hewitt, who was standing next to Rubiales, found the gesture to be \u201cslightly odd and then he seemingly forcefully kissed the English player Lucy Bronze on her face,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
Rubiales responded in the report by accusing Hewitt of \u201chypocrisy\u201d because she had also embraced players. He added that Hewitt\u2019s portrayal of him as \u201csome sort of creep is absolutely disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee said it had considered a more severe sanction after his behavior following the championship final.<\/p>\n
Rubiales\u2018 conduct was criticised by the report <\/p>\n
Rubiales\u2019 actions after Spain had been crowned world champions prompted a player rebellion and accusations of sexual assault.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll incidents assessed collectively, appear to reveal a sense of complete impunity on the part of the respondent within the football environment,\u201d the committee said in its written grounds of its decision. \u201cIt was absolutely and categorically expected of him to maintain and embody the highest levels of professionalism, beyond the usual standards, especially at a moment where his country was at the apex level of women\u2019s football.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this regard, the committee could not stress enough that \u2014 regardless of the emotional state he was in during and after the match \u2014 (Rubiales\u2019) behavior was inexcusable and unacceptable, especially considering his high rank within the football ecosystem at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rubiales resigned as the president of Spanish soccer on Sept. 10, having initially vowed not to stand down.<\/p>\n
The committee said it had considered factors such as the reputation of soccer and \u201cmore importantly, on (Hermoso\u2019s) mental state.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe committee wished to stress that it was tempted to impose more severe sanctions in view of the seriousness and gravity of the incidents at stake as well as of the profound negative impact that (Rubiales\u2019) actions had on the image of FIFA, women\u2019s football and women\u2019s sport in general,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n