Denial, false feminism, male victimisation: Luis Rubiales used familiar tactics to defend himself

Celebrations in Spain following the national team’s win at the FIFA Women’s World Cup have been marred by the behaviour of Luis Rubiales, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso, one of the players, without her consent and made rude gestures in the stands while watching the match.

Despite criticism of his behaviour, Rubiales has refused to resign, defending himself in a lengthy and at times bizarre speech.

Throughout, Rubiales resorted to strategies that are commonly used by those resistant to gender equality. It was straight out of the anti-feminist playbook.

Sociologists Michael Flood, Molly Dragiewicz and Bob Pease set out a series of discursive mechanisms used to diminish feminism in a paper published in 2020. These were all on show when Rubiales took to the floor – from the most subtle to the most aggressive.

1. Denial

The first tactic is denial. This includes rejecting the idea that any problem even exists and denying the legitimacy of any case for change.

Denial is a very common element of resistance to gender equality. In Rubiales’s case, he said: “It was spontaneous, mutual and consensual. I have a great relationship with all the players and we had some very affectionate moments at this training camp.”

However, two days earlier, a statement issued...

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