Spanish Football Federation chief Luis Rubiales has resigned following months of being engulfed in criticism, stemming from an unsolicited kiss he gave to Spain forward Jenni Hermoso at the Women’s World Cup last month.
Rubiales announced that he had submitted his resignation on Sunday. In a statement, the Spanish Football Federation later confirmed that he had submitted the resignation letter to the the federation’s acting president Pedro Rocha.
Rubiales, who has always maintained that the kiss was “mutual” and “consensual,” has been provisionally suspended by football’s world governing body Fifa. He has also resigned from his position as vice president of Uefa’s executive committee after ignoring repeated calls for him to resign.
Rubiales’s statement reads, “After the quick suspension carried out by Fifa, plus the rest of open proceedings against me, it is evident that I will not be able to return to my position,”
“Insisting on waiting and holding on is not going to contribute to anything positive, neither to the federation nor to Spanish football,” the statement added.
Heremoso filed a complaint against Rubiales on Tuesday, stating the kiss was not consensual. On Friday, a prosecutor filed a complaint with Spain’s high court – following Hermoso’s testimony on Tuesday – against Rubiales for sexual assault and coercion.