Spain's soccer chief is on a 90-day suspension for kissing star player Jenni Hermoso at the World Cup. His mother is now on a hunger strike to protest the punishment.
- The President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation's mom said she is on a hunger strike.
- She said she will not eat "night and day" until the scandal surrounding her son is resolved.
The mother of Spain's soccer federation chief has vowed to go on a hunger strike in protest of her son's punishment.
Ángeles Béjar, mother of Luis Rubiales, told state news agency EFE that she will go on a hunger strike "night and day" until "the bloody and inhumane hounding" of her son is resolved, the Associated Press reported.
On Saturday, FIFA suspended Rubiales for 90 days while a disciplinary committee looks into his conduct at the Women's World Cup Final — namely, grabbing Spanish player Jenni Hermoso and kissing her on the lips after their team clinched the World Cup win.
Rubiales, the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), played the kiss off as a "little peck" and said it was "spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and consensual," Insider previously reported.
But, according to Hermoso, "At no time did I consent to the kiss that he gave me." Since then, fans have called for Rubiales' resignation.
But Rubiales refused to step aside, prompting Hermoso and her teammates to refuse to play for Spain until Rubiales is ousted.
Now, Rubiales' mother is on a boycott of her own.
The AP reported that Rubiales' cousin, Vanessa Ruiz, joined his mother in calling on Hermoso to "tell the truth," adding that their family has been struggling and that her cousin is "a beautiful person."
Still, on Saturday Rubiales called the kiss "mutual," and that Hermoso had given him consent, the AP reported.
In two statements to the AP, Hermoso maintained that that was false and that she considered herself the victim of an abuse of power. She added that the federation was trying to pressure her into supporting Rubiales.
The Spanish federation, meanwhile, said she was lying and threatened to take legal action against her.