Former Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales — convicted of sexual assault for the non-consensual kiss on player Jenni Hermoso — was pelted with eggs, allegedly by his own uncle, during the launch of his new book in Madrid on Thursday.
Witnesses said one egg appeared to strike Rubiales on the back as a man, later identified by Rubiales as his uncle, hurled three in his direction during the presentation of Killing Rubiales.
¡I’ve found out he was my own uncle, Luis Ruben he’s called. An uncle who is my age,’ Rubiales told news portal Periodista Digital.
‘He threw eggs at me because he’s a deranged person, and I don’t think there’s any justification for it. They’ve arrested him, they’ve taken him away and, well, we’ll have to take action against him because I honestly thought he was armed.’
Spain’s national police confirmed that a man had been detained but did not verify any family link between the two.
Rubiales reportedly tried to pursue the assailant but was restrained by others attending the event.
Earlier in the week, Rubiales appeared on Spanish television claiming he had been targeted by a ‘sudden far-left movement’ that, he said, had created a ‘parallel reality’ around the controversy stemming from his forced kiss on Hermoso.
Rubiales was fined €10,800 for kissing the player without consent during Spain’s World Cup medal ceremony in Sydney in August 2023. He maintains the kiss was consensual, and his lawyer announced in June that he would appeal the conviction before Spain’s Supreme Court after an appeals court upheld the penalty. ALSO READ: Luis Rubiales guilty of sexual assault and fined over €10k for World Cup kiss.
Under Spanish law, a non-consensual kiss is classified as sexual assault, a category that includes all forms of sexual violence. ALSO READ: Rubiales ‘absolutely sure’ that Hermoso said he could kiss her.
The incident triggered international outrage, leading to Rubiales’ resignation, a three-year ban from football-related activity, and months of upheaval within the federation.
The affair also elevated Hermoso — Spain’s all-time top scorer — into an icon of the fight against sexism and macho culture in sport.
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Luis Rubiales, the former Spanish FA president who resigned after forcibly kissing a player following Spain’s victory in the 2023 World Cup, was hit with eggs at a book launch.
The eggs were reportedly thrown by his uncle 🥚pic.twitter.com/ebslkNYHIC
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) November 14, 2025
😯 Luis Rubiales, en @periodistadigit
🚨 “Es un tío carnal mío que es de mi edad. Es una persona desquiciada. Pensaba que iba armado”
👨🏻⚖️ “Tendré que ejercer acciones contra él”
📻 #PartidazoCOPE pic.twitter.com/UrPIXQ5ThI
— El Partidazo de COPE (@partidazocope) November 13, 2025
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