The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has penalised Luis Rubiales, former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), with a three-year ban from all activities related to football at national and international level. The committee maintains that Rubiales breached Article 13 of the body's code, when he kissed Jenni Hermoso at the final of the FIFA Women's World Cup, as reported by the committee this Monday. Until now, FIFA had provisionally suspended Rubiales. On that occasion the same committee had temporarily suspended him for a period of 90 days. Now, the provisional qualifier disappears from the equation and the suspension is extended to three years.
"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has banned Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Association (RFEF), from all football-related activities at national and international levels for three years, having found that he acted in breach of article 13 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code", the organization announced through a statement on its website. The statement warns that the decision can be appealed: "This decision can be appealed to the FIFA Appeal Committee." Finally, the body concludes by reiterating its commitment to respect for "decent" behaviour: "FIFA reiterates its absolute commitment to respecting and protecting the integrity of all people and ensuring that the basic rules of decent conduct are upheld."
Article 13 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code
Rubiales has been banned because the Disciplinary Committee considers that he has violated Article 13 of the Disciplinary Code. What does that article state? "Any person who offends the dignity or integrity of a country, a person or group of people through contemptuous, discriminatory or derogatory words or actions (by any means whatsoever) on account of race, skin colour, ethnic, national or social origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation, language, religion, political opinion, wealth, birth or any other status or any other reason, shall be sanctioned with a suspension lasting at least ten matches or a specific period, or any other appropriate disciplinary measure", is the full text of the applicable part, Section 1. of the article.