Spain's soccer federation vows legal action over Jenni Hermoso's comments on World Cup kiss

Spain's soccer federation stood firmly by its president, Luis Rubiales, on Saturday even as he faces a storm of criticism for grabbing star player Jenni Hermoso's head and kissing her on the lips after Spain's Women's World Cup victory.

In a statement issued in the early hours the federation said it would take legal action to defend Rubiales and said it would show there have been lies about what happened by Hermoso or people speaking for her.

The statement on the Royal Spanish Football Federation website did not say what the legal action would consist of.

Rubiales refused on Friday to resign as RFEF chief over his actions last Sunday in Sydney, seeking to defend his behaviour and calling the kiss "spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and consensual."

Hermoso said she did not consent to the kiss and felt "vulnerable and the victim of an aggression."

She has won the support of the Spanish government, which while it cannot fire Rubiales has strongly denounced his actions and is moving to get him suspended using a legal procedure before a sports tribunal.

The Spain women's team has also mutinied. In a joint statement sent via their FUTPRO union on Friday evening, all 23 of the cup-winning squad including Hermoso, as well as 32 other squad members, said they would not play internationals while Rubiales remains head of the federation.

In the same statement, Hermoso denied Rubiales's contention that the kiss he gave her was consensual, writing, "I want to clarify that, as was seen in the images, at no time did I consent to the kiss he gave me and, of course, in no case did I seek to lift the president."

In its statement early on Saturday, the federation said: "The RFEF and the President, given the seriousness of the content of the