Rubiales, President of the Spanish Football Federation, apologizes for kissing Hermoso after Spain’s World Cup victory.

Luis Rubiales, head of the Spanish Football Federation, has apologized for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips after Spain won the Women’s World Cup.

Jenni Hermoso, Spain’s all-time greatest scorer, was grabbed and kissed passionately by Spanish FA President Luis Rubiales during the medal presentation following the team’s 1-0 win over England in the final on Sunday.

“I was completely wrong, I have to admit it,” Rubiales said on Monday.

“It was without malice at a time of great excitement.” We thought it as natural at the time, but a clamor has formed outside.

“I have to apologise, learn from this, and understand that when you are president, you have to be more careful.”

“I didn’t like it,” Hermoso said on Instagram, although Rubiales was defended in a statement made later on her behalf.

Following the player’s original statements about hating the kiss, Hermoso stated the moment was a “natural gesture of affection” in a statement made by the Spanish football organization.

“It was a completely spontaneous mutual gesture due to the immense joy of winning a World Cup,” the 31-year-old added. The president and I have a wonderful connection; his treatment of all of us has been excellent, and it was a natural display of affection and gratitude.”

The President, on the other hand, dismissed it, saying that only “idiots” are making a big deal out of it.

“It doesn’t matter if two people make an affectionate gesture; we can’t pay attention to idiocy.” “We’re [world] champions, and that’s what I’ll concentrate on,” he remarked.

Rubiales has been chastised by various Spanish government ministers and has received widespread condemnation on social media.

“It’s a form of sexual violence that women face on a daily basis,” said Spain’s equalities minister, Irene Montero.

Montero went on to say that it had previously been “invisible” and that it is something “we can’t normalize.”

“We shouldn’t assume that kissing without consent is just something that happens,” she remarked.

Miquel Iceta, Spain’s sports minister, said it was “unacceptable” for Rubiales to kiss Hermoso, adding, “The first thing he has to do is give explanations and make apologies, it is the logical and reasonable thing to do.”

Rubiales’ actions were widely condemned on social media, with the phrase ‘dimision ya’ -‘resign now’ in English – trending on X, formerly known as Twitter in Spain.

The headline of the Spanish newspaper El Pais read, “Jenni didn’t like Rubiales’ kiss, and neither did we.”

According to the president of the Spanish Football Federation, it was “a kiss between two friends celebrating something,” and those who perceived it differently were “idiots and stupid people.”

“Let’s ignore them and enjoy the good things,” he continued, before changing his mind on Monday and eventually apologizing to Hermoso.

Spain won the World Cup despite the fact that coach Jorge Vilda survived a player uprising to maintain his job.

Spain captain Olga Carmona, who scored the game-winning goal for her team in the Women’s World Cup final, was informed after the game that her father had died.