Luis Rubiales should just throw in the towel

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Spanish FA President Luis Rubiales, who has been placed under suspension, should step down to end the backlash and protect himself, his mental health and his family. I reference his celebration involving his alleged hug and kiss of one of the players post the Spain Women’s national team success at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Amid those celebrations, no words could adequately describe the sheer euphoria and ecstasy when winning any sporting competition. All the hard work, tears, blood, sweat and sacrifice paying off that you just want to jump through the roof, and hug and squeeze the person closest to you. When sporting teams win major finals, you see big, hard-back men covered in tattoos hugging up, huddling, diving and jumping on each other, celebrating their success.

I think this incident is blown out of proportion since it was caught on camera, and given his position as the president.

Other ladies were hugging up other guys. In a perfect world, one would expect the same outrage if a man complained. It’s all about culture. In India, we see people greeting seniors by touching their feet. Australian cricketers, when they celebrate a wicket, they tend to give their teammate a smack on the backside. In Italy, footballers kiss each other on the cheek as a form of friendship, celebration or respect. Now, obviously, in our region that may not be acceptable.

In Spain, there is in fact a culture of greeting and celebration by a subtle kiss on the cheek; obviously, there’s a limit to it. Women’s sports always have some bacchanal along these lines. It’s not like the guy was groping her, and I’m not condoning any form of sexual harassment or abuse, but it is in Rubiales’ best interest to just walk away.

I recall Chris Gayle’s “Don’t blush, baby” fiasco in Australia. Obviously, it’s in his nature, but it was frowned upon in that part of the world. In this day and age, the world is covered with eggshells, things that were never an issue all of sudden become a problem. Men especially have got to be extra careful when involved with women’s sports, because the snowball effect comes into play and all it takes is one complaint for the media mob and the matrix to do what they do best. It’s best to leave people alone and do the bare minimum; hard luck, Luis.

KENDELL KARAN

Chaguanas

Trinidad and Tobago