Following her decision to embark on a hunger strike within a church, the mother of Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Federation, has been hospitalized due to concerns for her health. Her hunger strike was undertaken as a protest against the perceived mistreatment of her son.
The president of the Spanish Football Association faced a 90-day suspension from FIFA after he kissed player Jenni Hermoso during the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney earlier this month.
Bejar, who locked herself inside the church, has been refusing to exit.
Father Antonio, a priest at the church, informed Spanish media that after enduring 50 hours without food and consuming only water for her medication, Bejar was been admitted to the hospital around the same time she was scheduled to publicly address her hunger strike.
Antonio said: “Angeles has got worse and so they have had to take her to hospital as a matter of urgency.
“She was very poorly and already had a lot of problems but she took a turn for the worse and suffered a panic attack, saying she felt very anguished and dizzy and very strange.”
Father Antonio also verified that Rubiales had communicated with his mother.
However on Wednesday night, Angeles Bejar, aged 72, was granted authorization to depart from Santa Ana Hospital in Motril, near Malaga.
Bejar initiated a hunger strike on Monday as a response to the perceived unjust treatment towards her son, citing an “inhuman hunt.”
The 46-year-old Rubiales came under scrutiny when he embraced Ms. Hermoso and kissed her on the lips during the awards ceremony following Spain’s 1-0 victory over England the previous Sunday in Australia. Subsequently, he playfully mentioned his intention to “take the team to Ibiza” and marry Hermoso there.
In an interview conducted on Tuesday, Bejar mentioned that: ‘I will be here as long as my body stands it. I am not worried about dying for justice because my son is a decent person.’
She added that her son’s decision to kiss Jenni Hermoso on the lips after Spain’s win over England in the Women’s World Cup final was ‘not sexual abuse because there was consent between both parties as was demonstrated by the photographs’.
Bejar also repeatedly urged Hermoso to ‘to tell the truth’ during the interview.
Rubiales, who has declined to step down from his position, endeavored to offer an apology, asserting that his actions were devoid of any “malicious intent” and occurred during a “moment of great excitement.”