With his resignation this Friday, Luis Manuel Rubiales Béjar, will leave the post of President of the Royal Federation this Friday, having joined it on May 17, 2018 by the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE). Five years in which Rubiales had more shadows than lights…
It’s not an agreed or quiet goodbye. It’s a traumatic and controversial farewell the result of a series of inappropriate and inappropriate behaviors by the highest representative of Spanish football: obscene gestures in the box where the World Cup final in Australia and New Zealand was played, the kiss to Jenni Hermoso, some challenging first statements…
Sportingly, Rubiales’ command ends with two important and prestigious victories in 2023, such as that UEFA Nations League (Spain won the final against Croatia in Enschede on penalties) and the Women’s World Cup (Spain beat England 1-0 in the final in Sydney).
If the sporting pleasures are practically delayed until the end of his stage, The shadows fell quickly. The first is the sacking of Julen Lopetegui just hours after Spain’s debut at the 2018 World Cup in Russia for announcing that he would join Real Madrid after the tournament ended.
Fernando Hierro’s move to Julen Lopetegui did not bode well Finally, Spain said goodbye to the World Cup in Russia after a gray group stage (3-3 v Portugal, 1-0 v Iran and 2-2 v Morocco) and a knockout round defeat by the hosts on penalties (3-4) after the duel ended in a draw.
That same year, some sources claimed he traveled to New York, paying for the trip with federal funds. As revealed The Confidential, “He simulated meetings with the United Nations and Major League Soccer (MLS) to spend six days in the United States, where he was accompanied by a Mexican painter.”
more scandals
The RFEF president also suffered significant strains for hosting the 2019 Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia after reaching an agreement with Gerard Piqué. Accordingly The Confidential, “Audios, conversations and documents show that Rubiales and the Barça defender teamed up to collect a multi-million dollar commission for hosting the Super Cup in Saudi territory.”
In 2022, a 2020 scandal broke: Rubiales and his circle of confidants, according to The Confidential, “They used the organization’s corporate bank cards to pay for expenses related to a controversial holiday at a chalet in Salobreña, Granada, in August 2020.” Allegedly a party attended by “a group of eight to ten young girls.”
In 2020 he had to deal with it Iker Casillas, who announced his candidacy for the RFEF and his intention to stand in the snap elections called by Rubiales. That was clear to the former goalkeeper of Real Madrid and the Spanish team, world champions in South Africa 2010 “We will take our federation to the level of the best football in the world: that of Spain.”. However, Casillas resigned, leaving the place to Rubiales.
Rubiales also retained these years an in-depth face-to-face interview with LaLiga President Javier Tebas an enmity that comes from afar. Both positioned themselves to take control of Spanish football, leading to heated verbal altercations, episodes of which ended in the hands of the judiciary.
