Former Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales, who was convicted of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without consent after the 2023 Women’s World Cup, was attacked by his uncle during a book launch event in Madrid.
Rubiales’ uncle, who is also named Luis Rubiales, threw eggs at him during the event as he was speaking about his new book ‘Matar a Rubiales’ (Killing Rubiales). Video footage appears to show three eggs being thrown, with at least one hitting its mark.
‘He was carrying eggs and throwing them at me, but I didn’t know what he had in his hands and when I saw him, I thought he had a weapon. So I ran quickly towards him,’ Rubiales said. ‘We were lucky that they stopped me. I didn’t know what this man had in his hand, I didn’t know if he had a weapon. I saw a pregnant woman, who is my friend Paco’s wife, with two small children, right where he was standing with something in his hand, and I thought about the children. If I had grabbed him, we would be in a different situation.”
Rubiales was ordered to pay a fine after his sexual assault conviction in February, banned from going within 200 meters of Hermoso, and cannot communicate with her for a year. FIFA, the world’s governing soccer body, also banned Rubiales for three years.
Rubiales and three other federation employees — the former Spain women’s coach Jorge Vilda, ex-RFEF sporting director Albert Luque, and former marketing director Ruben Rivera — were all acquitted of the charge of coercion during the trial.