RFEF
Why is the mother of Spanish soccer president Luis Rubiales on hunger strike?
Ángeles Béjar locked herself in a church “indefinitely, day and night” and has called for Jenni Hermoso to withdraw the complaint against her son.
The mother of Spanish football president Luis Rubiales has locked herself in a local church and began a hunger strike in protest against charges against him.
Ángeles Béjar entered the Divina Pastora church in Motril, Granada on Monday morning and is refusing to leave. She has announced that she will be observing a hunger strike until the “inhumane and bloody hunt” ends. She claimed that “they are doing to my son something he does not deserve.”
Rubiales has been widely criticised for his behaviour at the final of the Women’s World Cup, in which Spain won the trophy for the first time. Rubiales lifted up and kissed Spanish player Jenni Hermoso during the closing ceremony, and was seen grabbing his crotch in celebration during the match.
After initially insisting that he had done nothing wrong, Rubiales went on to release a video in which he admitted that he was “sorry to those who were offended”.
Rubiales’ mother insists soccer chief did nothing wrong
In recent days the pressure on Rubiales has grown as FIFA launched an investigation and then issued a provisional suspension from all football-related activities. The head of the RFEF will be suspended “for an initial period of 90 days, pending the disciplinary proceedings.”
From the church, his mother said that she would wait “indefinitely, day and night” until the charges against her son are dropped.
She has called on Hermoso, the female player who was subject to Rubiales’ unwanted attention, to “tell the truth” and “keep the version she had at the beginning of the events.”
Béjar insists that her son did nothing wrong, claiming that “there was consent on both sides, as shown in the images.” She finished by saying that her son “is incapable of harming anyone”.