Ángeles Bejar, the 72-year-old mother of Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales, has been urgently admitted to hospital. Bejar began a hunger strike on Monday in support of her son, suspended from office over the non-consensual kiss of player Jennifer Hermoso. But this Wednesday, she was admitted to hospital after not feeling well, as has been confirmed by the rector of the Divina Pastora church, where Bejar was carrying out her vigil. "It is because of the heat and everything. Her feet were swollen and she was tired. She was also anxious," said the priest, who confirmed that Luis Rubiales had convinced his mother to leave the church. On Monday morning, she had begun an indefinite hunger strike in support of her son, whom she asserted was the target of an "inhumane and bloodthirsty hunt" after Rubiales's non-consensual kiss on the mouth of the player after the World Cup final, his refusal to resign from office over the incident, and his counter-accusations against the player.
Before being taken to hospital, Béjar had spent two night shut inside the church parish in Motril, encouraged by some local residents who support Rubiales in the dispute. This morning she reaffirmed before the media her intention to maintain her protest action at the church until footballer Jennifer Hermoso "tells the truth", and although she acknowledged that her son had asked her to end the hunger strike, she reaffirmed her will to go on as long as her body "held out". This Wednesday afternoon, however, she had to be rushed to hospital. At present it is not known what the intentions of Ángeles Béjar are when she leaves hospital.
Far-right support for Rubiales
Meanwhile, the status of Luis Rubiales is unchanged: he has been provisionally suspended from his post by FIFA, with his resignation demanded by the RFEF itself and official action underway at several levels by Spanish authorities to remove him from his post and take legal measures. He has, however, found support from the Spanish far-right party Vox. In a statement issued this Wednesday, Vox denounced the "political and media hunt" against the suspended president of the RFEF, related the case to Spain's "Only yes means yes" law of sexual freedom, and criticized "false feminism", using exactly the same phrase as Rubiales.
In a thread on social media, Vox asserts that there is a conspiracy by central government and "its media terminals" to overthrow Rubiales with the aim of "hiding the major problems" that Spain has. "With common sense you can distinguish what is rudeness or bad manners from what is a crime", claim the far right in an attempt to remove any importance from Rubiales' forced kiss to Hermoso.