Luis Rubiales refuses to apologise to Jenni Hermoso over ‘consensual’ kiss

Luis Rubiales has refused to directly apologise to Jenni Hermoso over the kiss that ultimately forced his resignation as Spanish football federation president.

In an interview with Piers Morgan on Talk TV, Rubiales instead continued to maintain the kiss was “consensual” and went on to suggest that the negative publicity over the affair had been “created by spurious arguments and people”.

Rubiales announced his resignation in a statement posted on his unverified X account – formerly Twitter – on Sunday evening, having already been suspended by Fifa pending an investigation into his behaviour.

Rubiales kissed Hermoso on the lips during the trophy presentation after Spain’s victory over England in last month’s World Cup final. Hermoso said the kiss was not consensual and has submitted a complaint to the national prosecutor’s office.

“What happened is bad for everyone,” Rubiales responded when asked by Morgan if he would apologise directly to Hermoso.

“We had Jenni lifting me. We had the fleeting kiss, two tenths of a second, but what was created from that is crazy. So what’s left for me is to defend my dignity. So it’s not about that (the apology) Piers, it’s about humility.”

Asked again if he wished to apologise, Rubiales continued: “So what we had is a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was driven by the emotion of the moment, the happiness, so I maintain that that is the truth of what happened.

“This has turned out to be a snowball created by spurious arguments and people. My intentions were noble, enthusiastic, 100 per cent non-sexual.

“There was no harm, no sexual content, no aggression, nothing like that. As president, once again, I will say… the significance of the kiss to Jenni would