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LUIS Rubiales, the disgraced former chief of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), was pelted with eggs at a book launch event in Madrid on Thursday night – by his own uncle.
The 48-year old was talking about his new book. Matar a Rubiales (‘Killing Rubiales’) when an audience member launched three eggs towards the stage after shouting: “Don’t worry, nothing’s up!”
Rubiales was splattered by two of the eggs. He jumped off the stage to face the attacker.
According to reports in Spanish media, the attacker – who has been arrested by police – has been identified as his own uncle, also called Luis Rubiales.
READ MORE: Luis Rubiales avoids jail over ‘non-consensual kiss’ after judge throws out appeal
After returning to his seat, the former RFEF leader said: “He carried eggs and threw them at me. I didn’t realize what he held in his hands, and I assumed he had a gun. So I ran to him quickly.
“We’re lucky they stopped me. I didn’t see what this man was holding, and I wasn’t sure if he carried a gun.
“I saw my friend Paco standing next to a woman who was pregnant with her two children. I immediately thought of the children.”
“We would be in a completely different situation if I had grabbed him.”
READ MORE : BREAKING : Luis Rubiales’ home raided in connection with Saudi Arabia contracts : Multiple arrests have been made but the disgraced Spanish former football manager is now out of the country
Earlier this year, Rubiales avoided jail over the ‘non-consensual kiss’ he planted on footballer Jenni Hermoso after Spain’s National Court upheld the original conviction and threw out an appeal launched by Hermoso’s legal team.
Rubiales’ kiss on Hermoso’s lips and grab of the head in front of millions was enough to overshadow Spain’s victory in the Women’s World Cup Final in 2023 over England.
Spanish prosecutors had been seeking a prison term of two-and-a-half years for sexual assault after Hermoso and her teammates claimed the kiss was unconsensual and not, as Rubiales claimed, a ‘consensual peck’.
But in February, Rubiales was only handed a paltry fine of €10,800 for the offence, small change in comparison to the annual salary of over €630,000 he enjoyed in his capacity as president of the RFEF, a role he held for five years until he resigned in disgrace in September 2023.
READ MORE: Luis Rubiales FINALLY resigns: Spanish football boss tells Piers Morgan he is stepping down following ‘Kissgate’ scandal but vows to defend his ‘innocence’
The former UEFA vice president was also found innocent of the allegations that he pressed Hermoso, 35 to publicly say the kiss was consented.
During her testimony, Hermoso insisted she had not given consent over the kiss, which she claimed ‘strained one of the happiest days of my life’.
She told the court that “my boss kissed me and it should not have happened in any social or workplace setting.”
Rubiales has been banned from any football-related activities for three years.
Rubiales, a Spanish Super Cup official who was involved in the controversial move of the tournament to Saudi Arabia, was arrested by the Spanish authorities on April 20, 2024.
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