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<\/div>\nThe mother of Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales has been hospitalised after\u00a0going on hunger strike\u00a0in protest at the treatment of her son, a local priest has said.<\/p>\n
Angeles Bejar locked herself in a church in Motril on Monday.<\/p>\n
Rubiales has been heavily criticised for kissing Spain\u2019s Jenni Hermoso on the lips after the World Cup final.<\/p>\n
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Hermoso said the kiss during the presentation ceremony in Sydney on 20 August\u00a0was not consensual.<\/p>\n
On entering the Divina Pastora church in Motril on Spain\u2019s southern coast, Bejar told Spanish news agency EFE the strike would continue \u201cindefinite, day and night\u201d.<\/p>\n
She added the \u201cinhuman and bloody hunt that they are doing with my son is something he does not deserve\u201d.<\/p>\n
The priest, who identified himself as Father Antonio, told Reuters news agency that Bejar had been taken to hospital in Motril \u2013 the town where her son was raised \u2013 so had to cancel a scheduled news conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had not been feeling well because of the heat and everything else,\u201d he\u00a0told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer feet had become swollen and she was very tired. She had also become very nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rubiales was\u00a0suspended on Saturday\u00a0by world football\u2019s governing body Fifa, a day after he had insisted\u00a0he would not resign\u00a0and claimed the kiss was \u201cmutual and consensual\u201d.<\/p>\n
Football Federation regional leaders have called on President Rubiales\u00a0to immediately step down, while Spanish prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into whether the incident amounts to a crime of sexual assault.<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s Sports Tribunal (TAD) also met on Monday to discuss the Spanish government\u2019s request to suspend Rubiales, with a decision yet to be announced.<\/p>\n
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin told\u00a0French website L\u2019Equipe\u00a0that Rubiales\u2019 actions were \u201cinappropriate\u201d.<\/p>\n
In his first comments on the incident, Ceferin said: \u201cI am a lawyer and one of the vice-presidents of Fifa. Any comments I might make would sound like pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just have to say that I am sad that such an event overshadows the victory of the Spanish national team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should change things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Spain is determined to end sexism\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Spain\u2019s acting equality minister Irene Montero said Spanish society must break a \u201cpact of silence\u201d and stop normalising sexist behaviour, though she hopes the widespread support for Hermoso following the incident will prove a turning point.<\/p>\n \u201cSpain is a feminist society in which sexism still exists, but it is determined to end sexism,\u201d Montero said. \u201cWe are sending the correct message to the world, that sexism is over.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps it would have been desirable for this pact of silence to be broken with more force and forcefulness. But I think it has begun to crack and that is a very important step.\u201d<\/p>\n The incident has\u00a0sparked protests across Spain\u00a0in support of Hermoso and against Rubiales, while fellow players \u2013\u00a0including the Lionesses\u00a0\u2013 have also shown their support.<\/p>\n The United Nations Human Rights office has also\u00a0backed Hermoso, saying everyone has a responsibility to \u201ccall out and challenge\u201d sexual harassment and abuse.<\/p>\n READ ALSO<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n