Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
By: EFE
The former German international Karlheinz Rummenigge considers the kiss of the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, to the player Jenni Hermoso “normal” and said it was something product of the emotion and that should not be exaggerated with the reactions.
“I think we shouldn’t exaggerate. When you are a world champion there are emotions and what he did, forgive me, it is something that is completely in order“, Rummenigge said in an act of the magazine “Sport Bild”.
“I remember that the last time we won the Champions League I kissed several players, although not on the mouth.. In football there are emotions”, added the leader of Bayern Munich.
Rummenigge’s statement contrasts with most of the reactions that have occurred in Germany that have condemned Rubiales.
During the same act, the former administrative director of the German Football League (DFL), Donnata Hopgen, expressed an opinion contrary to that of Rummenigge.
“If it is something that is not desired by both parties, it is problematic behavior. That cannot be overlooked and I think it has been duly discussed,” he said.
“It could be an assault and it appears to have been,” he added.
Among the reactions in the press, one of the strongest has been that of the Munich newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which says that Rubiales’ behavior was “At best, stupidity and at worst, aggression.”
Rummenigge’s statements have generated strong reactions in the networks where he is accused of having made a show of macho solidarity.
“Now there are old white men coming out of retirement to say that sexual assaults are not wrong”, says a comment on Twitter.
Another comment says that “it is normal for men to decide what is normal or not and when a woman should feel sexually assaulted.”
“Rummenigge is otherwise one of the most powerful men in world football. Football as a melting pot of patriarchy“he adds the same comment.
Keep reading:
Jennifer Hermoso’s mother breaks the silence and defends Luis Rubiales in the kiss scandal
· Luis Rubiales apologizes for kissing Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth: “It happened without bad faith, spontaneously”
· It was not just the kiss: Luis Rubiales caught in an inappropriate gesture next to the Queen of Spain