Did Obama approve of Spain's decision to sack Lopetegui?

Royal Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales said former U.S. President Barack Obama appeared to approve of the decision to dismiss manager Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the World Cup.

On holiday with family in Madrid earlier this month, Obama met with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe VI at a reception, where Rubiales was also present.

Whether he was using coded language borrowed from his tenure as Commander in Chief, or eluding to the dubious decision to sack Spain's manager days before La Furia Roja's opener with Portugal, Rubiales reckons Obama concurred with the proactive approach.

"What he tried to tell me is that inaction generally produces less rejections and less criticism, but that at times, you have to act," Rubiales told Cadena Cope radio, according to ESPN FC's Adriana Garcia. "And, from what I can gather, he and his entourage were in line with the decision we had taken. I never doubted my decision, I had it clear, it was a case of values, philosophy ... but I respect all points of view."

Days before Spain's Group B opener, Lopetegui was shockingly named Zinedine Zidane's successor at Real Madrid. Despite an agreement to take charge of the celebrated capital club at the completion of the World Cup, Rubiales and Co. fired the 51-year-old tactician on June 13. Spain would eventually get eliminated in the round of 16 by host Russia on penalties.

After the meeting with Obama, Rubiales said he came away impressed with the former president's knowledge of the game.

"What surprised me is that he knew much more than I thought he did," he said. "There was a reference to certain issues in which he said some decisions made in the United States had a patriotic tone whereas here, they were more difficult to take, something along those lines."