Spanish football boss 'will not resign' over kiss scandal

Spanish shot main Luis Rubiales has refused to resign from his presumption arsenic Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president pursuing a week of fierce disapproval aft video showed him placing an unwanted buss connected a prima player of Spain's winning Women's World Cup team.

Rubiales was speaking astatine the federation's Extraordinary General Assembly connected Friday and said helium volition "fight to the end."

In a defiant speech, helium described the buss arsenic "mutual" and spoke of "unjust" campaigns and "fake feminism" and emphatically said respective times during the astir 30-minute code that helium would not resign.

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Luis Rubiales remained defiant pursuing a week of fierce disapproval aft video showed him placing an unwanted buss connected a prima subordinate of Spain's winning Women's World Cup team. (Supplied)

Rubiales was filmed forcibly kissing Spain prima Jennifer Hermoso – who helped La Roja triumph its archetypal Women's World Cup rubric connected Sunday successful Sydney – connected the lips aft she collected her winners' medal, an enactment which the 33-year-old World Cup victor aboriginal said she "didn't like" and "didn't expect."

On Monday, Rubiales admitted helium had "made a mistake," but disapproval continued to determination successful passim the week from the shot satellite and Spanish politicians, including Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who said the apology for what helium called an "unacceptable gesture" was "not enough."

On Friday the embattled president issued a staunch defence of his actions astatine the final, saying: "Everyone determination – adjacent immoderate of them my family, my daughters – the tendency that could person been determination successful that buss is precisely the aforesaid that could person been arsenic giving a buss to 1 of my daughters. No more, nary less.

"It was a spontaneous buss … It was spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and with consent, which is the key. This is the cardinal to each of the criticism, of each of the run which has been mounted successful this country: that it was without consent. No. It was with consent."

Spanish shot main Luis Rubiales has refused to resign from his presumption arsenic Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president. (Getty)

On Wednesday, pursuing beardown disapproval of Rubiales' buss from journalists, politicians, and run groups, Hermoso said Spain's footballers relation (FUTPRO) and her bureau TMJ would beryllium "defending my interests and acting arsenic spokespersons connected this matter."

Then connected Thursday, planetary governing assemblage FIFA said it had opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales arsenic helium whitethorn person violated the game's "basic rules of decent conduct."

Rubiales besides said helium was successful "no presumption of dominance" during the buss and that helium had wanted to console Hermoso, who had missed a punishment to enactment Spain 2-0 up during the final.

"When Jenni archetypal showed up, she lifted maine up from the ground. She grabbed maine by the hips, by the legs, I don't retrieve well," helium said. "She lifted maine up from the crushed – and we astir fell down.

Global governing assemblage FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales (Europa Press via Getty Images)

"And erstwhile she enactment maine down connected the ground, we hugged each other. She's the 1 who picked maine up successful her arms and she pulled maine into her body. We hugged and I told her, 'Forget astir the penalty. You were fantastic, we wouldn't person won this World Cup without you.' She replied to me, 'You are awesome.' And I said, 'A tiny peck?' And she said, 'OK.'

"Then the peck happened during each of this solemnisation with her patting maine connected the broadside a fewer times and past excusing herself with 1 much manus connected the broadside and going disconnected laughing. That's the full sequence. That the full satellite understood, that the full satellite thought was an anecdote, and supra all, she said was an anecdote and thing more."

CNN has reached retired to FUTPRO.

While acknowledging helium needed to apologise for his actions, Rubiales described calls for his resignation arsenic a "witch hunt."

"… the happening with the kiss, which I said was free, was mutual, which was with consent, but evidently I inactive person to inquire for forgiveness for the discourse successful which it occurred. I'm not surviving extracurricular of the satellite and I cognize that I made a mistake successful this," helium said. "But bash we deliberation that this merits the witch hunt which I'm suffering? Do you truly judge that?

"Another happening is what idiosyncratic has to accidental publicly, but bash you deliberation it merits this hunt? So that they inquire for my resignation? Is it truthful superior truthful that I person to permission having done the champion enactment successful the past of Spanish football?

"Do you deliberation I person to resign? Well, I'm going to archer you something: I'm not going to resign! I'm not going to resign! I won't resign! I'm not going to resign! I'm not going to resign!"

In effect to Rubiales' speech, planetary players' national FIFPRO said it was again calling for "immediate disciplinary action" against Rubiales.

"We invited FIFA's determination to unfastened an morals case, and steps taken astatine nationalist level successful Spain. Furthermore, we person written to UEFA – the organisation of which Mr. Rubiales is simply a vice-president – requesting that it starts disciplinary proceedings," it said successful a statement.

"Any deficiency of enactment by authorities successful addressing the behaviour of Mr. Rubiales would nonstop an wholly unacceptable and damaging connection to the shot manufacture and wider society."

Spain's men's striker Borja Iglesias announced connected the societal media level X, formerly Twitter, that helium is not going backmost to the men's nationalist squad pursuing Rubiales' comments.

"I'm bittersweet and fto down," helium wrote. "As a footballer and arsenic a idiosyncratic I don't consciousness represented by what happened contiguous astatine the City of Football of Las Rozas. I deliberation it's despicable that they support putting unit and putting the spotlight connected a colleague.

"Putting connected the Spanish nationalist squad garment is the biggest happening that's happened successful my career. I don't cognize if I volition ever person the accidental to bash truthful again, but I've made the determination to not spell backmost to the National Team until things alteration and these benignant of acts bash not spell unpunished. For a much just, humane and decent football."