The study examines the crisis communication of football personality Luis Rubiales in relation to the media-covered scandal that occurred during the 2023 Women's World Cup when the Spanish women's national team emerged victorious. During the medal ceremony, Luis Rubiales, the then-president of the Spanish Football Federation, took hold of player Jennifer Hermoso's head and kissed her on the mouth. Later, Hermoso revealed that the kiss was non-consensual, leading to a media frenzy surrounding Rubiales' actions. The purpose of the study is to examine how a person with significant power in the football world utilizes crisis communication to rebuild their reputation. The study employs a qualitative content analysis and draws on the Image Repair Theory and aspects of Foucault's theory of power. The analysis focuses on a transcription of Rubiales' speech during a 2023 press conference, translated from Spanish to Swedish and transcribed.

The study's results show that Rubiales employs several defense strategies in his crisis communication and often leverages his position of power to insert himself into another existing discourse advantageous to him. The analysis reveals that the strategies of excuse, downplaying the offensiveness of the event, and denial are present in the text, in various ways and to varying degrees. Rubiales attempts to rebuild his reputation in various ways, as evidenced by interpretations of how different strategies can be applied to his speech. By applying Foucault's theories on discourses, the analysis also demonstrates that Rubiales shifts from the current discourse and inserts himself into other discourses to cast the event in a favorable light. This reshaping of the discourse occurs frequently in the speech, influencing the construction of truth in the event.