Lucy Blancer, the star player of the Barcelona women's soccer team in Spain, then stepped in to present the award, and Rubiales hugged her tightly before dropping a kiss on her face:
As Spain's players walked up to the podium, received their medals from FIFA president Gianni Infantino and interacted with the guests on stage, Rubiales' emotions appeared to fluctuate. He went through the players, giving each one a hug and often leaving a mark on his cheek. At times, players were hugged tightly and even kissed multiple times, with hands on their backs or arms. However, every hug was full of warmth:
Lubiales embraced players such as Teresa Arborella with particular fervor, at times picking them up and carrying them to the ground. Erin Guerrero was even taken by Lubiales twice, raising eyebrows:
At first, Rubiales favored embracing contact before naturally transitioning into a kiss, but the key moment was particularly notable for his interaction with El Mozo. After their first hug, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and nearly leapt off the ground. Elmoso insisted that she had no intention of picking up Rubiales, while Rubiales argued that it was Elmoso's initiative. The scene was edited out of the TV footage, sparking speculation:
The Spanish FA then released an 825-word statement, most of which centered around El Mozo's unsolicited hug of Rubiales. The statement mentioned that El Mozo tilted her back during the hug, a spontaneous gesture that she made without question.
Rubiales then stroked the back of Hermoso's head with both hands, and the two spoke in hushed tones. There were conflicting accounts of the conversation, with Rubiales recalling encouraging her to "forget about penalty kicks", a claim that Hermoso denied.
Rubiales pressed a deep kiss to Hermoso's cheek and then patted her on the back. He called the kiss a "consensual wave," while Hermoso insisted she never consented to the kiss.
In the VIP section of the stands, Rubiales celebrated the victory, ignoring Queen Letizia of Spain and her daughter Sofia next to him, and still not losing his excitement to embrace his teammates. He carried Del Castillo slightly on his shoulders and also kissed goal-scorer and captain Olga Carmona on the cheek:
The series of events created a furor in the sports world. After receiving the suspension, the Spanish FA went all out in defense of Rubiales, even accusing Hermoso of lying. FIFA also issued a suspension order and asked Rubiales and the Spanish FA to refrain from contacting Hermoso. This incident will undoubtedly have far-reaching consequences:
