Spain women’s football team refuse to play until Luis Rubiales resigns

The Spanish women’s football team will not play any matches until the federation leadership is changed, they have said in a joint statement hours after Luis Rubiales hit out at “false feminism” and a “social assassination” of his character as he vowed to stay on as the head of Spain’s football federation.

The embattled head of the federation has faced fierce criticism for days, as well as a Fifa investigation, after he grabbed the forward Jenni Hermoso by the head and kissed her on her lips during the Women’s World Cup final trophy presentation.

The statement published by the players’ union Futpro late on Friday included Hermoso’s rebuttal of Rubiales’ assertion that the kiss was consensual.

“I want to clarify that, as was seen in the images, at no time did I consent to the kiss he gave me,” Hermoso said. “I do not tolerate my word being questioned and much less the invention of words I have not said.”

Futpro, which Hermoso has said is representing her interests in this case, said: “On behalf of the union we want to emphasise that no woman should be forced to answer to this, given the powerful images that everyone has seen.”

The joint statement said the World Cup champions would not return to play for the national team as long as the leadership remained in place. Along with all 23 players from the World Cup squad, the statement was signed by 56 other female football players.

It also spoke of the impact the days-long saga has had on the World Cup victory of La Roja. “It fills us with sadness that such an unacceptable incident is managing to tarnish the greatest sporting success of Spanish women’s football,” it said.

The statement came after a surprising twist to the day that left many across Spain in shock. Rubiales had been widely expected to resign but instead the 46-year-old reiterated that he would not be forced out of his role by what he claimed was a “social assassination”. “I will not resign,” he repeated five times to widespread applause. “I will fight this to the end.”

He argued that the kiss was consensual and there was “no dominance”. He claimed he had asked Hermoso if he could give her a little peck. “She said OK.”

He apologised for grabbing his crotch as La Roja won the tournament, describing it as an “unfortunate” gesture made in the “euphoria” of the moment. The gesture – made near the country’s 16-year-old princess – was supposedly directed at the team’s coach, Jorge Vilda, as a tribute. “I have to apologise to the royal family,” he said. “It wasn’t very edifying.”

Reaction to Rubiales’ defiant and meandering speech was swift. The Spanish government said on Friday that it would take immediate legal action, to make good on an earlier promise to try to have Rubiales removed if the federation – which counts just six women among its 140 members – did not.

“What we have seen today at the federation’s assembly is unacceptable,” Yolanda Díaz, Spain’s acting labour minister and second deputy prime minister said on social media. “The government must act and take urgent measures: impunity for chauvinistic actions is over. Rubiales cannot continue in the position.”

Several high-ranking members of the federation also reportedly resigned, including Rafael del Amo, who oversaw women’s football, and a handful of others who represented the federation in regions across the country, hinting at dissent within the federation over Rubiales’ stance.