Rubiales and the eternal embarrassment of Spanish football: shady dealings, allegations and the ultimate kiss

Luis Rubiales has made Ángel María Villar good. It was a foregone conclusion. The PP government, by action or omission, decided that Villar had to be removed from the RFEF presidency in 2017. Days before Pedro Sánchez won the no-confidence motion against Mariano Rajoy in May 2018, Luis Rubiales was elected president of Spanish football. A trade unionist and former player who had one goal: to reign in Las Rozas.

While justice tries to win the game against Villar, without much success other than public humiliation, for the moment, Rubiales adds a new scandal that may lead him to abandon his professional cortijo.

The kiss on the mouth to Jennifer Hermoso after the final of the Women's World Cup has gone around the world. That right hand grabbing her crotch a few metres away from Queen Leitizia and the Infanta Sofia has sunk a survivor of his own miseries.

Sánchez's survival manual has a second part written by 'Rubi' as his partner Piqué called him. That kiss may be the last and end his career, but it is more likely that the taste it leaves is that of victory to make it clear that 'his' football supports him. And nothing has happened here.

It all started at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The national coach, Julen Lopetegui signed as Real Madrid coach days before the start of the tournament. Florentino Pérez took the Basque coach from Rubiales and the coach from Motril sacked him abruptly a day before the first match against Portugal. Fernando Hierro took charge of the national team that ended up eliminated in the round of 16, drowning in an endless game of touch.

That gave rise to the Federation of Values. Rubiales set up an ethics committee with Ana Muñoz as vice-president. Barely a year later he resigned because of the pressures to which he was subjected every stage he tried to open such as those words of Busquets and Piqué against the referees before a Clásico.

Relations with Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, have been so bad that they have bordered on mafia-like. Both directors have veiledly accused each other of committing irregularities typical of the camorra, although they have always maintained differences in the background, such as matches on Mondays, the Super Cup in Arabia or league matches in the United States.

The problems with the position of coach reappeared during Luis Enrique's tenure. The Asturian had to leave the post due to family problems and his place was taken by Robert Moreno. When Luis Enrique made the decision to return, both Rubiales and Molina muddled the situation with lies and half-truths that left the RFEF's image badly damaged. 

The shady business dealings with Piqué seemed to be the definitive reason for Rubiales' departure. The then Barça player's company managed the Arabian Super Cup and the conflict of interest was absolute because, depending on which teams played in the tournament, both the defender and the president pocketed more or less money. The leaked conversations and WhatsApp audios uncovered an improper conspiracy that ended with Rubiales holding a press conference where he talked about drugs in the boot and deflected attention by explaining what his life was like as a child when he broke his legs in Motril.

Within the RFEF, Rubiales has been denounced for collecting aid for building work on his house, recording conversations with politicians, hiring a model as a secretary, spying on the leader of the players' union and organising orgies at the RFEF's expense, as revealed by his uncle, Juan Rubiales, to whom he gave a job in Las Rozas as head of the presidency until the relationship exploded.

Before Spain won the women's World Cup, the RFEF also had problems with the players. Fifteen of them called for the dismissal of coach Ángel Vilda, whom Rubiales kept on. The motives of both sides were never revealed. And long before all this, Rubiales tried to take control of women's football to prevent LaLiga F from managing the sport.

Rubiales remains in the RFEF thanks to the support of the regional associations and futsal, but also thanks to strong men like Florentino Pérez, who has a better relationship with him than with Javier Tebas.

In the case of futsal, Rubiales followed the path set by José María García, a person of maximum influence, and took the sport away from the LNFS and drove it underground. Appointments in this area have been scandalous, with a scandalous transfer of former officials from Movistar Inter, the club led by García, to the RFEF, resulting in blatant financial support for the team and the consequent adulteration of its own competition.

Staff hired by the RFEF pay for favours in the campaign to get Rubiales into power and to keep him there. Journalists turned communications officers and personal advisors to the president who are overwhelmed every time their boss screws up. Salaried spokespersons who go around the media, hosepipe in hand to put out fires with petrol.

Everything in Las Rozas is a circus. The director is tightrope walking on a rope that is about to break. But there is always a net underneath.