Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales ‘is ordered to double his child support payments
Suspended Spanish FA chief Luis Rubiales has reportedly been ordered to increase his child support payments after being taken to court by his ex-wife.
The 46-year-old dad-of-three, now facing backlash after his unsolicited kiss of World Cup-winning player Jenni Hermoso, is said to have been forced to pay double the amount he previously handed over due to a ‘tenfold’ increase in his income.
Spanish TV station La Sexta reported a court in the east coast city of Valencia had ordered Rubiales to up his payments for each of his daughters from 400 to 800 euros a month.
His ex, who has been described as a lawyer and named in Spain as Maria Manuela Delicado Vega, is said to have asked for a revision of Rubiales’ child support payments after the football chief’s annual net income jumped from 97,000 euros in 2011 to a massive 955,000 euros nine years later.
In 2020, when Rubiales was on a near six-figure salary, she is said to have earned just 26,600 euros after tax.
Luis Rubiales kisses Spanish player Jennifer Hermoso during the women’s world cup final medal presentation
This picture taken on August 20, 2023 shows President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales carrying Spain’s Athenea del Castillo Beivide on his shoulder as they celebrate winning the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women’s World Cup final football match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney
Rubiales (right) has been banned by FIFA’s disciplinary committee for an initial 90 days following his conduct after the Women’s World Cup final, which saw him kiss Hermoso on the lips
The suspended FA chief, now a step closer to being prosecuted over the ‘unconsented’ kiss he gave World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso after she made a formal complaint, spoke about his daughters Lucia, Ana and Elena in a Spanish TV interview earlier this year.
He told interviewer Risto Mejide:’ They are very strong, stronger than me.’
He went on to describe his eldest daughter as a History of Art student, saying: ‘She’s a very sensitive person and has a strong compromise with herself and society.
‘The middle one is the one who is most like me, perhaps the most activist of the three. She’s also someone with an amazing intelligence.’
He also revealed in the interview how one of his daughters had once been ‘close to death’ after a fall which left medics needing to ‘drill her brain’ because of her head injuries.
His three daughters, believed to be aged 20, 17 and around 15, were present at a Spanish FA meeting last month when he insisted repeatedly he was not going to resign after the so-called ‘Kissgate’ scandal unfolded before his ex-hairdresser mum Angeles Bejar went on a brief hunger strike in support of her son.
Rubiales appeared to suggest he had a good relationship with his ex-wife in the interview, saying: ‘I think we have always done the best for the girls.
‘I don’t think the marriage was a failure, we were very happy, but when you move on to another phase in your life, well you move on.’
The reports about the increased child support payments, first published by respected media outlet El Periodico de España before La Sexta outlined more details from leaked court documents, state the decision was made by Valencia’s Provincial Court on June 19.
The decision pre-dated his suspension as Spanish FA president, which has led to him being deprived of his massive salary and other perks, and it is not yet clear what effect that may have on the amount he is expected to hand over in child support payments.
Rubiales’ ex is known to live in a modest house in a small town near Valencia with at least one of her daughters.
She declined to comment last month – to both Spanish and UK media – after the ‘Kissgate’ scandal broke.
Rubiales has not yet made any official comment.
In an odd speech at an RFEF meeting in late August, Rubiales refused to quit and blasted ‘false feminists’
The Spanish football federation has apologised for the ‘enormous damage’ caused by the actions of its suspended president Luis Rubiales
Catalan regional president Pere Aragones (C) takes part in a protest in support of football player Jenni Hermoso in Barcelona on September 4, 2023
On Wednesday it emerged Jenni Hermoso had paved the way for the prosecution of Rubiales by filing a formal complaint against him over his infamous World Cup kiss.
Prosecutors had given her 15 days to accuse Rubiales of sexually assaulting her by kissing her on the lips without her consent after Spain’s Women’s World Cup victory over England last month.
The action, which Rubiales says was consensual and has described as a ‘peck’, sparked the Kissgate scandal which led to the dad-of-three being suspended by Fifa for 90 days, a church hunger strike by his pensioner mum and the sacking of team manager Jorge Vilda.
Without it state prosecutors, now expected to ask a Spanish court to place the football chief under criminal investigation in the next few days, would have been unable to prosecute Rubiales.
A judge at Spain’s Audiencia Nacional court in Madrid would be tasked with conducting the probe and decide whether Rubiales should face charges before inviting prosecutors to indict the suspended Spanish FA president.
That is because the kiss which has caused turmoil in Spanish football happened in Australia and other courts in Spain do not have the authority to act.
Prosecutors agreed late last month to invite Jenni Hermoso to file a formal complaint against Rubiales.
The footballer has said the kiss left her feeling vulnerable and a victim of aggression. She has described it as ‘an impulsive, sexist act, out of place and without any type of consent on my part.’
Hermoso appeared to show off a meme on her phone comparing being kissed by Rubiales with former Spanish international Iker Casillas locking lips with reporter Sara Carbonero
Luis Rubiales’ mother Angeles Bejar has revealed he begged her to stop her hunger strike
Rubiales, who has apologised for grabbing his crotch during post-match celebrations in front of Spain’s Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter, said in a lengthy statement last week: ‘The spontaneity and happiness of the historic moment led us to carry out a mutual and consensual act, a product of great enthusiasm.
‘At no time was there any aggression, indeed, there was not even the slightest discomfort, but an overflowing joy in both of us.’
Rubiales’ 72-year-old mum broke off her hunger strike at a church in her son’s hometown of Motril near Granada on Wednesday of last week after being rushed to hospital 48 hours into her protest.
She said she had launched it to get Jenni, who has now returned to the Mexican city of Pachuca where she plays her club football, to ‘tell the truth’ about the kiss.
Speaking from the inside of the church before falling ill, she said: ‘I just want the truth to be told.
‘She knows my son is very honest. If she tells the truth everything will be fixed.’
Referring to the World Cup kiss that has led to the so-called ‘Kissgate’ scandal, she added: ‘It was an anecdote, as she herself said, and look how far it’s gone.
‘She should have a conscience and act according to it.
‘My son is very worried and has asked me not to continue, to stop, but I will be here until I drop and my body can continue.’