Spanish Football Federation fires communications director

By admin On Sep 30, 2023

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced on Friday the resignation of the communications director, in a further change after the scandal sparked by the forced kiss of its former president Luis Rubiales on the player Jenni Hermoso.

“The RFEF has decided to dispense with the services of the director of communication, Pablo García-Cuervo,” the statement published by the federation reads.

García-Cuervo’s resignation adds to the previous departures of Secretary General Andreu Camps, considered close to Rubiales, the director of the Integrity Department, Miguel García Caba, and former women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda

On Friday, the judge in charge of the “Rubiales case,” which investigates alleged crimes of sexual assault and coercion for kissing Hermoso, called to testify as witnesses on Oct. 20 García-Cuervo and the coach of the men’s national team, Luis de la Fuente.

The investigation is now also focused on former women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda, men’s national team director Albert Luque and RFEF marketing director Rubén Rivera.

The three came under investigation after the brother and a friend of Jenni Hermoso confirmed before the judge that the player was pressured to justify Rubiales’ action in a video.

After the kiss on Hermoso, the players of the Spanish national team called for “forceful changes in the leadership positions of the RFEF and, specifically, in the area of women’s football.”

Therefore, they called for “a restructuring of the organization chart of women’s soccer, restructuring of the office of the Presidency and the General Secretariat, resignation of the president of the RFEF, restructuring of the communication and marketing area, and restructuring of the integrity area.”

The athletes reached an agreement on September 20 with the RFEF and Spain’s Superior Sports Council, in which the federation pledged to make changes.

The agreement allowed the players to agree to participate in the Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, both with Spanish victory.