De la Fuente Apologizes for Applauding Rubiales

De la Fuente Retracts Applause Amid Criticism

Can you continue leading a national team after applauding Rubiales' speech live at the RFEF assembly? Luis de la Fuente tried to answer by stepping up to a podium with a notebook and one goal: to take back the claps he gave Luis Rubiales. The coach's retraction came with two elements: an admission of error and an excuse. He said he went into shock. That is how he faced the media.

The scene, as reconstructed later, was this: Rubiales defending his management before the RFEF assembly and attacking feminism, which, according to repeated accounts, he called a scourge of the country. Part of the audience applauded. De la Fuente was among them. The gesture was recorded and could no longer be separated from the man who put him in the job. Since then, every appearance has become an interrogation. According to several debate participants, they question his change of opinion with a magnifying glass, detail by detail, down to the last nuance.

Why Did Luis de la Fuente Applaud Rubiales?

The official version is that he joined the applause without measuring what he supported. A shock, in his own words. The excuse has defenders and detractors. The former argue that a surprised gesture defines no one and that the man has already paid with public ridicule; the latter reply that someone occupying that chair does not justify himself by claiming confusion. One part of the conversation summarizes that he was blocked and therefore applauded. Another does not buy the excuse and sees pure survival calculation in it.

The problem is not just the applause. It is the timing of the retraction. It comes when the person who elevated him to the role is suspended and when media pressure becomes unsustainable. That calendar, more than the words, is what has burned the coach.

Is De la Fuente Being Judged Double Standards?

There is an asymmetry running through the whole affair. For several debate interveners, he is questioned for changing his criteria while Jenni Hermoso, who also reportedly adjusted her public narrative, is not subjected to the same scrutiny. The entire men's national team came out to support her with a statement read by captain Álvaro Sarracena, condemning the unacceptable behavior of the suspended president for failing to meet the standards of the institution he represented. The contrast between both treatments hovered over the appearance.

For some, the difference is elementary: one backed the accused and the other is the victim. For others, the yardstick has become so elastic that it depends only on the enemy being targeted.

What Does the Coach Risk With Retraction?

The job. And not much else. De la Fuente has built a short tenure at the head of the senior team, with a Nations League title that, according to repeated claims, was served to him by Luis Enrique's prior work. His profile, according to circulating comments, is not that of a manager with offers on the table; it is that of a structural man who owes his rise to the person he now denies. In the debate, it is asked if his salary is around half a million euros, without the figure being verified. Someone living off the Federation does not renounce it for dignity.

Hence the retraction is read as a survival tactic. Without real alternatives in the market, according to that reading, the only move is to weather the storm and wait for it to pass. Those demanding his head argue that the retraction has done him no good.

Status of Rubiales' Suspension?

The former president remains under FIFA's provisional suspension, set at 90 days, as noted in the debate, while other fronts advance at different speeds. According to reports, the file from the Administrative Court for Sport (TAD) is on the table: if classified as a very serious offense, the Executive could suspend him immediately. While decisions are pending, the federation machinery continues to operate, matches are played, and cameras keep rewinding in search of old applause.

Staging the Retraction

The appearance was prepared. Handwritten notes and a script of contrition. For several debate participants, it was not a spontaneous burst of sincerity but a timed image operation. According to one participant's account, news broadcasts peine that same day with the coach begging forgiveness, detailed counts of the president's suspension calendar, and recaps of international reactions. Nearly ten minutes of TV news dedicated to the liturgy of repentance.

The doubt remains whether such staging serves any purpose. Because an applause cannot be taken back with words, especially when the person who gave it no longer remembers why he did.

Is There a Witch Hunt Against the Coach?

At the other end of the board, harassment is described as a summary trial. A segment of the public speaks of inquisition, lynching, and social condemnation before any resolution, with historical comparisons ranging from the stake to Stalinism. This is a reading based on climate rather than evidence. The facts, for now, are more modest: an applause, a retraction, and a job hanging by a thread.