The president of the Spanish FA has broken his silence after being criticised for kissing one of Spain's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup winners on the lips during the medal ceremony.
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Luis Rubiales' actions sparked outrage in Spain and on social media on Sunday after he kissed Jennifer Hermoso on the lips moments after Spain beat England 1-0 to win the Women's World Cup in Australia.
The 33-year-old herself had called for the incident to not overshadow her team's achievement, although she had said during an Instagram live session that she "didn't like it" as he laughed.
On Monday, however, following strong backlash in his own country, Rubiales admitted what he did was uncalled for in a video released by the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
"There's an event, which I have to regret, which is everything that happened between the player and I, with a magnificent relationship between the two of us, the same as with the others," he said, according to CNN.
"And well, I surely made a mistake, I have to recognise that. In a moment of elation, without any intention of bad faith, well, what happened happened – I think in a very spontaneous way. I repeat, there was no bad faith between either of the two of us.
"Here, we didn't understand it because we saw something natural, normal and in no way, I repeat, with bad faith.
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"But outside of the bubble, it looks like it has turned into a storm and so, if there are people who have felt offended, I have to say I'm sorry."
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