Spain visit Georgia in shadow of Rubiales scandal
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Spain's men's team visit Georgia on Friday aiming to correct a poor start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, with the Luis Rubiales scandal overshadowing their preparations.
The suspended president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF) has not resigned from his post despite unprecedented world pressure to do so, after he planted an unsolicited kiss on the lips of women's team midfielderJenni Hermoso.
The women's team emerged triumphant in Sydney on August 20 to win the World Cupfor the first time, while in June the men's side secured their first UEFA Nations League victory.
With a strong 2030 men's WorldCup bid underway, this should be a time of celebration for Spanish football, but Rubiales has ensured the opposite is true.
The 46-year-old's kiss on Hermoso's lips has turned Spanish football upside-down, with 81 players on strike from the women's team.
Luis Rubiales, from union boss to Spain's football federation chief
FootballOnly one — Real Betis forward Borja Iglesias — has stepped away from the men's side, but they are far from unaffected by the situation, despite their best efforts.
The RFEF apologised Tuesday for the outrage over two weeks after the incident happened, also sacking controversial women's coach Jorge Vilda.
Interim federation president Pedro Rocha said they would keep faith in Spain's men's coach Luis de la Fuente, despite his applause of a defiant Rubiales speech in which he said he would not resign.
De la Fuente, 62, fielded nearly half-an-hour of questions about his applause when he appeared at a news conference last week to name his squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Georgia and Cyprus.
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