Spanish FA (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales has been provisionally suspended by FIFA after kissing soccer forward Jenni Hermoso after Spain's World Cup final win on August 20 in Sydney, Australia.
Rubiales kissed Hermoso on the lips as the team were collecting their medals after a 1-0 win over England's Lionesses.
He has faced significant backlash across sporting communities and beyond and has refused to quit his role despite growing pressure. The Spanish national team have said they would not play international matches while Rubiales remains at the top of the federation.
According to Reuters, FIFA has now confirmed it has suspended Rubiales, 46, over the kiss. "The chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee[...]has decided today to provisionally suspend Mr Luis Rubiales from all football-related activities at national and international level," FIFA said in a statement.
"The decision adopted by the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has been communicated today to Mr Luis Rubiales, the RFEF and (European soccer body) UEFA for due compliance."
The committee said no further information would be provided on disciplinary actions relating to Rubiales at this stage.
This week Rubiales used his speech at a general assembly of the RFEF to criticise the "hunt" sparked after the incident. He repeated several times that "I'm not going to resign" to an applauding crowd, which appeared to be largely comprised of men. He described the moments that led to the kiss and accused Hermoso of bringing him "close to her body".
Following his comments on Friday, the RFEF released a stern statement accusing Hermoso of lying. "Mr President's feet are ostensibly lifted from the ground as a result of the player's action," the statement said. "The tests are conclusive. Mr President has not lied.
"The RFEF and Mr President will demonstrate each of the lies that are spread either by someone on behalf of the player or, if applicable, by the player herself."
Hermoso has been adamant that she did not consent to being kissed by Rubiales, a moment which was watched across the world as Spain prepared to lift the trophy.
"I feel obligated to say that the words of Mr Luis Rubiales explaining the unfortunate event are categorically false and part of the manipulative culture he has created," she said in a statement released on Friday.
"I want to make clear that not in any moment did the conversation occur that Mr Luis Rubiales references, and much less that his kiss was consensual. In the same way I want to reiterate how I did in that moment that what happened was not enjoyable.
Hermoso, 33, is considered one of Spain's best ever female footballer players.
Update 08/26/2023, 9:54 a.m. ET: This article was updated with more context.
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