Suspended Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has resigned from his post after kissing a player on the lips without her consent in a scandal which overshadowed Spain winning the Women's World Cup for the first time.
He had already been suspended from his job by FIFA for his conduct at the final and, after soccer’s world body opened a disciplinary case, remained defiant and hostile toward Hermoso.Rubiales said that he had told interim Spanish federation president Pedro Rocha — who replaced him when Rubiales was suspended on Aug. 26 — of his resignation late Sunday night.
Two weeks ago, Rubiales had been expected to step down amid the immediate wave of criticism for his conduct at the final, which included a lewd gesture of grabbing his crotch. Instead, in a defiant Aug. 25 speech before his federation’s general assembly, he refused to go quietly and claimed he was victim of a "witch hunt" by "false feminists.
"Insisting in waiting and hanging on would not contribute anything positive either the federation or Spanish soccer, among other reasons, because the powers that be would stop me from returning ," Rubiales said in his statement.