Rubiales and Hermoso: From World Cup Glory to Kiss Scandal

Jenni Hermoso and Rubiales' kiss: €675,761 public salary

Spain won the Women's World Cup, but a kiss stole the headlines. The Rubiales-Jenni Hermoso case began during the trophy ceremony, when the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) kissed the player on the mouth, ultimately displacing the sporting achievement in public discourse. Within two days, the celebration took a backseat. Focus shifted to consent, institutional image, and the salary of the executive signing contracts.

What peine at the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony?

A kiss on the mouth, live, with millions watching. Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso during the title celebration and, according to circulating versions, the player later stated she did not like it. The gesture came alongside another controversial image in the stands: the president appeared touching his genitals next to the Queen, the Infanta, and the FIFA president.

Rubiales stepped out to apologize. That is where the second problem began. For some observers, apologizing meant agreeing with accusers; for others, it confirmed the episode was a blunder, not a state affair. Some argue that a federation official should have known that such a gesture, on that stage and with those cameras, was unsustainable.

The RFEF president's salary: €675,761 gross

Numbers, when they appear, summarize the issue better than any speech. According to figures circulated in the debate, Luis Rubiales' compensation as head of the federation in 2022 was €675,761.87 gross, equivalent to €371,669.03 net. This amount included a housing allowance of €3,000 gross monthly, or €36,000 per year.

These are figures for a sports leader, not a top-tier businessman. That is the detail many highlight: the person negotiating rights, appearing before the Government, and sitting in the box earns nearly seven hundred thousand euros annually to manage a federation that, according to critics, has suffered years of opacity.

The 'Trojan horse' hypothesis and the fifteen-player locker room

Here the matter gets complicated. The most repeated thesis claims that Jenni Hermoso acted as a bridge between the coach and the group of players who had requested his dismissal a year earlier. According to that narrative, her role was key to rebuilding a fractured team, and the coach himself understood he no longer fit their plans.

From there jumps the more uncomfortable reading: that those who pushed the kiss controversy are the same ones who defended the critical group and do not accept that the title arrived without them. It is a hypothesis, not a fact. The opposing version points elsewhere: the coach allegedly pressured the player's circle to defend the president. Neither is proven, but both circulate with equal ease.

Was there consent and why do some demand jail time?

The debate on consent has become a battlefield. Some recall the player said she did not like it, while others claim she downplayed the episode herself. Two incompatible narratives have been built on this contradiction: one demands incivil consequences, the other speaks of excess, media lynching, and double standards because it involves a man and a woman.

In the most literary extreme of the matter, someone compares the case to parents kissing their young daughters. It is not an innocent analogy: it serves to discuss where the limit lies for physical contact without consent in a public, broadcast space. The problem is that while the metaphor is debated, the headline is already written and the controversy remains open.

The sporting dominance nobody disputes and almost nobody remembers

On the pitch, there is no possible debate. In the same season, Spanish women's football added the U-17, U-20, and senior World Cups, along with the Women's Champions League. A dominance difficult to repeat that, in another country, would have topped headlines for weeks.

The most uncomfortable criticism is not against the players, but against whoever turned the triumph into an instrument. It is argued that the promotion of women's football has been driven mainly by profiles outside the sport, and that without the kiss episode, the controversy would have been sought elsewhere: in who congratulated whom, for example. Public subsidies are also pointed to as part of the success, without providing any figure.

The political and federative side of the case

No Spanish federation crisis is understood without its political derivative. It is claimed that the RFEF president maintained ties with the Government's circle, that his continuity interested several parties, and that inconvenient files never fully close. All that falls into the same bag as the kiss.

Added to this is a calculation of variable geometry: a forced exit would open a Pandora's box for the entire structure, from contracts to commercial agreements. Hence, some demand resignation while others silently prefer he stays.

With this material, it is predictable that the case will remain in courts and editorials longer than the World Cup lasted. That the federation changes its face seems probable; that it changes its substance, much less so. And if anyone expects this episode to teach something to Spanish sport, they better not bet too heavily.