 Luis Rubiales, 46, was widely expected to step down at a meeting on Friday amid mounting outrage after his unsolicited kiss on Spain's Jenni Hermoso. However, ministers have now moved to seek approval to remove him from post after he shouted three times 'I will not resign' in a defiant tirade. 'It is a social murder, they are trying to kill me,' he also told the emergency meeting after a week in which he had been accused by a minister of 'sexual violence'. 'As a Spaniard, we have to reflect on where we are going,' he added. 'False feminism does not seek justice, it does not seek the truth, it does not care about people.' The Spanish Government's Sports Council is understood to be sending a complaint file to court over the weekend. As soon as the court accepts and opens the case, ministers will be able to suspend Rubiales. Spanish media speculate that will take place on Monday morning. In extraordinary scenes of melodrama, Rubiales shouted at the meeting of the Spanish football federation: 'A consensual 'peck' is enough to get me out of here? I will fight until the end.' Within two hours of Rubiales taking his defiant stand, however, the Spanish Government confirmed it would seek sporting court approval to suspend him. Amid a mounting revolt on Friday, Spanish men's team striker Borja Iglesias announced he was quitting international football in protest against Rubiales. The Real Betis forward, 30, said he wanted to stand in solidarity with the women's side. 'As a footballer and as a person I don't feel represented by what happened today in the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas,' he said. Ministers and figures within sport had been demanding Rubiales's resignation throughout the week, with world football governing body Fifa also opening disciplinary proceedings against him. Controversy erupted at the end of Spain's 1-0 World Cup final victory over Spain, when Rubiales was pictured grabbing his crotch in ce){kind=link}
Spanish FA president said he is victim of attempted ‘social murder’ after criticism for kissing Hermoso and grabbing his crotch
Spain’s World Cup-winning players launched a boycott after their federation chief refused to quit amid uproar over an unsolicited kiss on a player at the final.
In a bid to finally force Luis Rubiales out, a total of 56 players, including the entire squad, signed a letter saying they will not play internationally until the “federation leadership is removed”.
Ministers had already announced they were seeking court approval to suspend Rubiales, 46, on Monday after he shouted three times “I will not resign” in a defiant tirade. He added at an emergency meeting: “A consensual ‘peck’ is enough to get me out of here? I will fight until the end.”
Rubiales had been widely expected to step down amid mounting outrage this week after he grabbed Spain’s Jenni Hermoso unsolicited and kissed her lips. At the end of Spain’s 1-0 World Cup final victory over England on Sunday, he also grabbed his crotch in celebration while stood alongside the Queen of Spain.