THE mother of disgraced Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales was taken to hospital on the third day of her hunger strike.
Angeles Béjar, 72, had been staging the protest due to the “inhuman treatment” she claims her son is facing in the fallout of the World Cup “Kissgate” scandal.
Béjar had locked herself inside the Divina Pastora church in her hometown of Motril, Grenada refusing to leave or to eat.
Luis Rubiales is engulfed in a storm of public anger after planting a “non-consensual” kiss on player Jenni Hermoso after their World Cup victory, which led to his 90-day suspension by FIFA on Saturday.
Béjar had planned a press conference this evening, however her parish priest announced that she was instead rushed to hospital.
Father Antonio told reporters: “It was because of the heat and everything. Her feet were swollen and she was tired.
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“She was also nervous.”
He added: “She was very bad, anguish, dizziness… she said she noticed something strange, a palpitation.”
Antonio also revealed that the retired hairdresser will not return to her hunger strike or confinement due to health problems.
“She is an elderly lady,” he explained.
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Only 24 hours before, she has told Spanish TV via WhatsApp: “I will stay here as long as my body holds out. I don’t mind dying for justice because my son is a decent person and it’s not fair what they’re doing.”
The current whereabouts of Rubiales are unknown and he has not been seen in public since he shocked the world by refusing to resign at an extraordinary Spanish FA general assembly last Friday.
He has reportedly travelled to Motril for a holiday despite the town hall’s cancellation of a football match he was due to take part in with friends at a municipal stadium for “security reasons.”
Two or Rubiales’ cousins were also at the church where his mother was staging her hunger strike to defend the football chief.
Vanesa Ruiz Bejar declared: “There’s a campaign of harassment occurring that is very unfair.
“Luis’ mum who is a very religious person has sought refuge in God and started a hunger strike. She doesn’t want to come out of the church.
“We are all suffering a lot because of what’s happened to Luis which doesn’t seem at all fair to us.”
However, it is only the latest in a string of scandals to hit the Rubiales family after his uncle told an anti-corruption trial last year that Luis had illegally used RFEF funds to rent a luxury villa for an “orgy”.
Meanwhile, in a new bombshell interview with Rubiales’ uncle, Juan, he deplored his nephew’s behaviour and stated: “All of our family stands with Jenni”.
“He is a cowardly man,” he told El Confidencial.
“He is a man obsessed with power, obsessed with luxury, and with women… I believe that this boy needs a program of social re-education and re-education in his relationship with the woman.”
It comes as Rubiales is now facing a “sexual assault” probe after kissing World Cup hero Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth.
Rubiales has refused to resign over the scandal – prompting mass walkouts of players and staff and plunging the World Cup-winning nation into crisis.
He has insisted the kiss was consensual and that he is the victim of character assassination by “false feminists”.
In a powerful statement, Hermoso said: “I felt vulnerable and a victim of an assault, an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part.”
But on Monday, Spanish FA chiefs demanded Rubiales quit, with Fifa provisionally suspending him for 90 days and launching proceedings.
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The Spanish FA’s regional presidents held a five-hour meeting on Monday – concluding he should resign immediately.
In a lengthy statement they said: “After the latest events and the unacceptable behaviours that have seriously damaged the image of Spanish football, the presidents request that Mr. Luis Rubiales immediately present his resignation as president of the RFEF.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
