Well, this is a bizarre development that probably no-one saw coming. The saga of the unwanted kiss on the lips by Spanish football president Luis Rubiales after the Spanish women's team World Cup win has taken a turn towards the bizarre, as Rubiales' mother has gone on indefinite hunger strike over it.
I kid you not. I guess they are just a very passionate family or something, but this still seems like a rather extreme step. Maybe she is a bit concerned about the family's comfortable income? Maybe she has a peculiarly Spanish quixotic penchant for tilting at windmills? But a hunger strike?
The whole affair has taken a rather bizarre trajectory. First, the kiss itself, in the proverbial heat of the moment, of which Jenni Hermoso laconically said she "did not enjoy", and which caused an international furor and calls for Rubiales' resignation. Then came Rubiales' lacklustre "sorry for those who were offended" (sorry not sorry). Then, FIFA announced it was opening disciplinary proceedings, which prompted Rubiales to double down, insisting that he would definitely not resign, and calling the kiss "consensual". The Spanish government gets involved, threatening legal proceedings, as does the Royal Spanish Football Federation, even the King himself weighs in. Ms. Hermoso publicly confirms that "at no time ... was his kiss ever consensual". Feminist groups demonstrated in the streets chanting, "It's not a kiss, it's aggression". Finally, FIFA provisionally suspends Rubiales from his position, the entire Spanish coaching staff resigns en masse, and 81 Spanish internationals refuse to play for Spain until Rubiales is permanently removed. He's really not a popular guy, and this is to mention nothing of his crotch-grabbing tendencies...
But his mother loves him. Out of the blue, she locks herself in the Divina Pastora church in their hometown of Motril, and announces that she is going on a hunger strike, "indefinite, day and night", to protest the "inhuman and bloody hunt" of her son.
Well, kudos to her Mama Bear moment, I guess. But that's a tough one, when most of the civilized world is against you.
UPDATE
Finally, three weeks later, Rubiales got the message and resigned. His mother must be distraught.
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