Spanish Soccer Chief's Mom Goes on Hunger Strike Due to World Cup Kiss Controversy as Son Refuses Calls to Step Down

Spain's victory in the Women's World Cup has been clouded in controversy after an unwanted kiss seen around the world. Luis Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, celebrated the women's team's triumph by kissing team captain Jenni Hermoso, which she later said was a nonconsensual advance.

Rubiales has been suspended by FIFA for 90 days after giving a fiery speech refusing to step down; at the same time, Spanish prosecutors are conduct a sexual abuse investigation into the incident, and Spain's national team players have said they won't be playing any more games until he resigns.

Now, as he faces protests calling for him to step down, Rubiales' own mother is getting involved. On Aug. 28, Ángeles Béjar locked herself in a church in Rubiales' hometown of Motril and started a hunger strike in support of her son.

According to ESPN, Béjar said her strike would continue until the "inhuman, bloodthirsty witch hunt which [her] son is being subjected to" comes to an end.

"There is no sexual abuse since there is consent on both sides, as the images prove," she insisted to Spanish news agency EFE. "My son is incapable of hurting anyone."

Rubiales' cousin Vanessa Ruiz Béjar echoed a similar sentiment. "His mom, who is a person of great faith, has taken refuge in God and is on a hunger strike and does not want to leave the church.... His family is suffering very much on his behalf. It is not fair what is happening," she told Teledeporte. "He has been judged ahead of time and he should be left in peace. We want Jenni to tell the truth. Why has she changed her story three times? Our family has been harassed. This woman should tell the truth. Jenni, you should tell the truth. We want Jenni to tell the truth."

"The way they are treating with him, the aggression, the feminists, the television, it seems to me shameful. All the people who are taking advantage of the situation, it is shameful," she added.

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Hermoso initially said in a statement that the kiss, while nonconsensual, was a harmless act. "It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that winning a World Cup brings," she said shortly afterwards. However, later on she was more critical of the incident. “I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out of place act without any consent on my part,” Hermoso said in a social media statement. “Simply put I was not respected.”

Continued backlash against Rubiales led him to issue an apology. "I surely made a mistake, I have to recognize that," he admitted. "In a moment of elation, without any intention of bad faith, well, what happened happened—I think in a very spontaneous way." Still, he has steadfastly refuted calls to resign.

Rubiales remains suspended by FIFA as soccer's governing body completes its own internal investigation.