Spanish FA boss refuses to resign in kiss scandal as women's team quit in protest

Spanish soccer boss Luis Rubiales on Friday refused to quit for grabbing star player Jenni Hermoso's head and kissing her on the lips after Spain's Women's World Cup victory, leading 56 national team members to mutiny and the government to denounce his "macho actions".

In a joint statement sent via their FUTPRO union, 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 Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

In the same statement, Hermoso denied Rubiales' allegation that the kiss he gave her at the medal ceremony after Spain beat England 1-0 in the World Cup final in Sydney, Australia, was consensual.

"I do not tolerate it when my word is put into doubt and less so when words that I have not said are invented," she wrote.

At an emergency meeting of the federation called for Friday, Rubiales had been widely expected to stand down. But instead he said he refused to quit and complained that "false feminists" were "trying to kill me".

He called the kiss a "little peck" that was "spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and consensual". He also claimed that he asked Hermoso if he could kiss her and that she said "OK".

"Is a consensual peck going to take me out of here? I won't resign. I will fight until the end," said Rubiales (46), drawing applause from the predominantly male audience.

The government, which cannot sack Rubiales, will seek to have him suspended using a legal procedure before a sports tribunal, the head of the state-run sports council CSD, Victor Francos, told reporters.

"We want all this to be a 'Me Too' of Spanish soccer," Francos said.

Criticism of Rubiales' behaviour after Spain's win has built throughout the