Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales has admitted he “made a mistake” by giving Spain star Jennifer Hermoso an unwanted kiss on the lips after the 33-year-old received her gold medal following the team’s Women’s World Cup final victory over England on Sunday.

Rubiales has faced widespread criticism for the incident, with politicians and journalists labeling his behavior “unacceptable” and “simply disgusting.”

“There’s an event, which I have to regret, which is everything that happened between the player and I, with a magnificent relationship between the two of us, the same as with the others,” the RFEF boss said in a video statement.

“And well, I surely made a mistake, I have to recognize that. In a moment of elation, without any intention of bad faith, well, what happened happened — I think in a very spontaneous way. I repeat, there was no bad faith between either of the two of us.

“Here, we didn’t understand it because we saw something natural, normal and in no way, I repeat, with bad faith. But outside of the bubble, it looks like it has turned into a storm and so, if there are people who have felt offended, I have to say I’m sorry.”

Rubiales was on stage for FIFA’s awards ceremony following the final, along with other dignitaries, including soccer’s world governing body president Gianni Infantino, Spain’s Queen Letizia and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Video shows Rubiales embracing Hermoso, then putting both hands on her head before kissing her. He then pats her on the back as she walks away.

“Hey, I didn’t like it, eh,” says Hermoso as she apparently answers questions about the incident in an Instagram live video — a clip of which was shared by Spanish journalist Irati Vida on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Later in the Instagram live video — taken in Spain’s locker room — Hermoso fields a question from another woman: “But what were you doing, sis?” The 33-year-old replies: “But what am I supposed to do?”

On the radio program “El Tiempo de Juego” on Cadena COPE, Hermoso spoke of the kiss on Sunday, saying she “didn’t expect it” but that “it was because of the emotion of the moment, there’s nothing more there. It’s just going to be an anecdote [of the time]. I’m absolutely sure it won’t be blown up more.”

In his apology, Rubiales acknowledged he should “be more careful” when representing the RFEF as president at ceremonies and other important events.

(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【兴高采烈】xìnggāo cǎiliè elation a feeling or state of great joy or pride

【更衣室】gèngyīshì locker room a room for changing clothes and for storing clothing and equipment in lockersone for use by sports players

西班牙皇家足球联合会主席路易斯•鲁比亚莱斯承认自己“犯了个错误”，周日西班牙队在女足世界杯决赛中战胜英格兰队，鲁比亚莱斯在33岁的球星珍妮弗•埃莫索领取金牌后亲吻了她的嘴唇。

鲁比亚莱斯因此遭到了广泛的批评，政界人士和记者称他的行为“不可接受”、“简直令人作呕”。

鲁比亚莱斯在一份视频声明中说：

“对于球员和我之间发生的事情，我不得不表示遗憾，虽然我们两人关系很好，我和其他球员也是一样。”

“好吧，我肯定犯了一个错误，我必须承认。在欣喜若狂的时刻，在没有任何恶意的情况下，发生了这样的事情 —— 我认为是以一种非常自然的方式发生的。我再说一遍，我们之间没有任何嫌隙。”

“我们不理解，是因为我们的互动是自然、正常的，我再说一遍，没有不愉快。但在私域之外，这似乎变成了一场风暴，因此，如果有人感到被冒犯，我必须说声对不起。”

决赛结束后，鲁比亚莱斯与世界足球管理机构主席詹尼•因凡蒂诺、西班牙王后莱蒂齐亚和澳大利亚总理安东尼•阿尔巴内斯等政要一起，出席了国际足联的颁奖仪式。

视频显示，鲁比亚莱斯拥抱了埃莫索，用双手抱着她的头亲吻了她，还在她走开时拍了拍她的后背。

“嘿，我不喜欢这样，嗯，”埃莫索在Instagram直播视频中回答有关这一事件的问题时说道，西班牙记者伊拉蒂•维达在X（即推特）平台上分享了这段视频。

在Instagram视频（在西班牙队更衣室拍摄）的稍后部分，埃莫索回答了另一位女士的问题： “但你当时为什么没任何表示，姐姐？” 埃莫索答道：“但我能做什么呢？”

在Cadena COPE的广播节目《游戏》中，埃莫索谈到了周日的那个吻，她说自己“没想到会这样”， “是因为当时的氛围，没别的原因。这只是一段轶事。相信它不会被炒得更热”。

鲁比亚莱斯在道歉中承认，他以主席身份代表欧足联出席典礼和其他重要活动时应该“更加谨慎”。

(Translated by Debra)