Almost three weeks have passed since the final of the Women's Soccer World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and the controversy over Luis Rubiales' kiss to Jennifer Hermoso continues its course. The kiss by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation to the national team and Pachuca player has led, among others, to her temporary suspension by FIFA, the dismissal of Jorge Vilda, the resignation of 80 footballers and the denunciation of the affected one.
For their part, reactions have continued to fall in dribs and drabs, the bulk of them condemning the president's actions. The last to comment on them was Pau Gasol, member of the NBA Hall of Fame and former player for the Barcelona Football Club and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his appearance at the presentation of the 2026 Women's Basketball World Cup in Germany, the center from Sant Boi de Llobregat asked that the necessary measures be taken.
“For us in Spain, seeing my country win the World Cup for the first time, it was disappointing to see that happen later, with that type of behavior. It was difficult to experience that, to see that moment of joy and happiness taken away from him. It was a big challenge and we are still dealing with it. As president of the Federation, he should know better how to behave,” the basketball player expressed to the media.
“It is a complicated and unfortunate situation. It's unfortunate what happened. A moment as beautiful and as historic as the Spanish women's team being proclaimed world champion, and the headlines focusing on the actions of the president of the Spanish Football Federation... it affected me in a negative way. I felt angry at that moment,” Gasol continued, before investigating the actions of the different organizations on the case.
“You expect the organizations to make the decisions they have to make, and not just for the good of the sport. It is a question of human values, of society and of the country. The image at that moment, which should have been one of pride, in the end was an image of shame and disappointment. It felt pretty bad to me,” commented the former player. In that sense, the TAD only considered Rubiales's kiss without consent as “inadecorous conduct,” denying the status of “very serious misconduct.”
Despite this, Gasol concluded his speech on the matter by sending messages of encouragement to the squad: “I support the players, Jenni Hermoso, women's football, women's sports and the figure of women. It's not easy to talk about these kinds of things, but it's important to do so." Support that has been emerging from many corners of the country and the rest of the world during the last three weeks.
