- ‘I have to improve, we all do,’ says Luis de la Fuente
- Men’s coach ‘lacked bravery’ to contact Jenni Hermoso
The coach of the Spanish national men’s team, Luis de la Fuente, has apologised for the “inexcusable error” of applauding Luis Rubiales during the speech in which the football federation president refused to resign after forcibly kissing Women’s World Cup-winning midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips.
De la Fuente said that his actions were a product of the “psychological stress” of the situation he found himself in and that if he could go back he would behave differently, although he did not explain what he was applauding. Nor did he give an explanation for why it took 24 hours for him to release a statement criticising Rubiales’s behaviour, by which time the president had already been suspended by Fifa. He also admitted that “I probably lacked the bravery” to contact Hermoso.
