The president of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, has come under fire after he kissed Spanish female forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips following Spain’s 1-0 victory over England in the World Cup final in Sydney on 20 August.
The kiss was delivered on stage during the official post-match ceremony and was captured on camera.
The Guardian also reported that the video from the celebrations also shows Rubiales kissing other players on the cheeks and embracing them.
And since then, social media has erupted.
The Guardian reported that Hermoso said on a livestream afterwards that she “didn’t like it”, referring to the unexpected kiss.
However, in comments later provided to media, she appeared to clarify her position, and said that it was a “natural gesture of affection”.
“It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that winning a World Cup brings,” said Hermoso, in comments given to AFP by the Spanish federation.
“The president and I have a great relationship, his behaviour with all of us has been outstanding and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.”
Rubiales himself brushed off any suggestion that the kiss was inappropriate.
“It was a kiss between two friends celebrating something,” he told the broadcaster COPE on Sunday.
He said that those who saw the kiss differently were “idiots and stupid people”, reported The Guardian.
Reactions to the kiss continued to dominate Spanish news on Monday, with the minister of equality in the caretaker government, Irene Montero, describing it as “a form of sexual violence that we women suffer on a daily basis and until now has been invisible,” on social media.
“We can’t normalise this,” she added.
Her view was also backed by Nadia Tronchoni, who leads sports coverage at the newspaper El País who described it as “an intrusion,” she wrote.
“An invasion of one’s personal space. Without consent. An aggression.”
A spokesperson for the leftwing coalition Sumar, Marta Lois, added her voice to the many on social media and called on Rubiales to resign.
Speaking on the Spanish broadcaster Cadena Ser, the presenter José Luis Sastre said, “In the hundreds of celebrations that we’ve seen between Rubiales and male players, he didn’t grab any of them by the head in order to give them a kiss without asking.”
PHOTOS: BBC/REUTERS