TBILISI (Reuters) – Spain men’s coach Luis de la Fuente tried to avoid questions on Thursday about the scandal sparked by football federation boss Luis Rubiales’ unsolicited kiss of player Jenni Hermoso after her team’s victory in the Women’s World Cup.
On the eve of their Euro 2024 qualifier in Tbilisi against Georgia when Spain will be bidding to bounce back from their 2-0 loss to Scotland, a visibly uncomfortable De La Fuente tried to dismiss the idea that the furore sparked by Rubiales’ actions in Sydney could be a distraction for his players.
“We have a very important game. We need to win tomorrow with our eyes on qualifying for the European Championship and we are only focused on that,” De La Fuente told a press conference.
“I want us to do well enough to win tomorrow,” De la Fuente said when asked for his opinion on the RFEF decision to sack women’s coach Jorge Vilda, as both were under fire for applauding Rubiales when he said he would not resign.
Spain midfielder Rodri said the players had a meeting with De La Fuente to address the issue.
“The first thing we did was get together to talk about the situation and the responsibility of expressing ourselves as a Spain men’s team,” Rodri said.
“The coach gave his own explanations. It is an unpleasant situation that we all find ourselves in, including the coach. They haven’t been easy weeks for him.”
Hermoso lodged a criminal complaint over the kiss on Tuesday after she gave testimony to the Spanish prosecutor.
Rubiales could face criminal charges in addition to the ongoing inquiry by Spain’s top sport court for “serious misconduct” and an investigation by world soccer’s governing body FIFA.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas in Madrid, editing by Ed Osmond)
