BARCELONA: Spanish striker Borja Iglesias quit the men’s national team on Friday after federation president Luis Rubiales refused to resign following his unsolicited kiss of a star of the Women’s World Cup.
The Real Betis forward, who has played twice for his country, most recently in March, took a stand against the Spanish football federation (RFEF) chief’s decision to reuse to quit.
Rubiales, 46, provoked world outrage by grabbing Hermoso by the head and kissing her on the lips during the medal ceremony after Spain beat England 1-0 to triumph in the final in Sydney on Sunday.
“As a player and as a person I do not feel represented by what happened,” said Iglesias on social network X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Wearing the Spain shirt is one of the best things that has happened to me in my career.
“I don’t know if in another moment I will be available again, but I have taken the decision not to return to the national team until things change, and these type of acts don’t go unpunished.
He added he was acting “for a more just, human and decent football.”
In refusing to stand down on Friday, Rubiales said in a defensive and fiery speech at a football federation emergency meeting that he was suffering a public “assassination” and railed against “false feminism.”
The federation president claimed his kiss was “mutual, euphoric and consensual.”
Iglesias quits Spain’s men’s team after Rubiales refuses to resign
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Iglesias quits Spain’s men’s team after Rubiales refuses to resign
- The Real Betis forward, who has played twice for his country took a stand against the Spanish football federation chief’s decision to refuse to quit
- He said he was acting “for a more just, human and decent football”
Rooney says Salah ‘destroying his Liverpool legacy’
- The Egypt forward said on Saturday he felt like he had been ‘thrown under the bus’ by Liverpool
- He was left on the bench for the third consecutive game in a 3-3 draw at Leeds and not even introduced as a substitute
LONDON: Mohamed Salah is “absolutely destroying his Liverpool legacy” following an extraordinary outburst at manager Arne Slot, according to Wayne Rooney.
The Egypt forward said on Saturday he felt like he had been “thrown under the bus” by Liverpool and that he no longer had a relationship with Slot after he was left on the bench for the third consecutive game in a 3-3 draw at Leeds and not even introduced as a substitute.
After next weekend’s home match against Brighton, Salah is set to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations and hinted that could be his final appearance in a Liverpool shirt should he be selected.
Former Manchester United and England striker Rooney believes Slot must now demonstrate he is in charge at Anfield by leaving Salah out completely from Tuesday’s Champions League tie at Inter Milan.
“Arne Slot has to show his authority and pull him in and say ‘you are not traveling with the team, what you said is not acceptable’,” said Rooney in his latest BBC podcast.
“Take yourself off to AFCON (the Africa Cup of Nations) and let everything calm down. If I was him there would be no way he would be in the team.”
Rooney added: “He (Salah) is absolutely destroying his legacy at Liverpool. It would be sad for him to throw it all away. He’s gone about it all wrong.”
Salah is Liverpool’s third highest goalscorer of all time with 250 goals in 420 appearances for the club.
However, the 33-year-old has been a shadow of his former self during Liverpool’s struggles this season — the club are now ninth in the table — with a mere four goals in 13 Premier League appearances.
After the Leeds game, Salah told reporters: “I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager, and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship.
“It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.”
