Luis Rubiales has eggs thrown at him during book launch in Madrid | Soccer
Disgraced former Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales had an egg thrown at him, allegedly by his uncle, during the launch of his new book in Madrid on Thursday.
Rubiales, who was found guilty of sexual assault for forcibly kissing actress Jenni Hermoso, was seen hitting an egg on her back as the man she claimed to be her uncle threw three eggs towards the 48-year-old actress.
“I found out that he is my uncle, his name is Luis Ruben. An uncle of my age,” Rubiales told the news portal Periodista Digital. “He threw eggs at me because he’s a crazy person and I don’t think there’s any justification for that. They arrested him, took him away and we’re going to have to take action against him because I really thought he was armed.”
The national police announced the arrest of a Spanish man but refused to confirm the family connection.
Rubiales tried to run after his uncle before being stopped by others at the event to promote his book “Matar a Rubiales” (Killing Rubiales). Speaking on Spanish television earlier this week, Rubiales claimed he was the victim of a “sudden far-left movement” that had created a “parallel reality” to exploit the issue surrounding his forcible kissing of Hermoso.
Rubiales was fined €10,800 for forcibly kissing Hermoso during the medal ceremony after Spain won the Women’s World Cup in Sydney in August 2023. The former RFEF chief insisted it was consensual and his lawyer said he would appeal the conviction in the high court after the Spanish appeals court upheld the sentence in June.
Spain’s criminal code states that a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a legal category that covers all forms of sexual violence.
The kiss caused a global uproar that forced Rubiales to relinquish his position, resulted in him being banned from all football-related activities for three years, and plunged the federation into a long period of turmoil. This incident made Hermoso, the national women’s team’s all-time top scorer, the focal point of the fight against sexism and macho culture in sports.
