ZURICH/MADRID: Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales has now been suspended for 90 days by world governing body FIFA amid the escalating crisis in Spanish football over his unwanted kiss on Women’s World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso.

Spain’s women’s national team coaches have all resigned in protest as the announcement on Friday by Rubiales, who is also a vice-president of European federation UEFA, that he intended to resist all sporting and political demands for his resignation.

The national team’s victory in last weekend’s Women’s World Cup Final has been virtually forgotten amid the Rubiales issue which prompted FIFA’s ethics department to launch an investigation into the behaviour of Rubiales.

Rubiales says the kiss was consensual and has refused to resign over the incident despite fierce criticism from Hermoso, her teammates and the Spanish government. Hermoso said the kiss was unwanted and she and the entire World Cup-winning squad have refused to play while Rubiales remains president.

The Spanish federation has threatened legal action against Hermoso for “lies” but FIFA has banned Rubiales and the RFEF from contacting Hermoso, to preserve her “fundamental rights.”

Pedro Rocha, a vice-president of the federation has taken over as interim boss, which has continued to insist that Rubiales maintains his innocence.

A statement said: “Rubiales has said he will defend himself before the pertinent agencies and fully confides in the work of FIFA, and reiterates that, in this way, he will have the opportunity to begin his defense so that the truth prevails and his full innocence is shown.

“The evidence is conclusive. The president has not lied.”

The federation also said players had “an obligation” to participate in matches “if they are called for it,” after all 23 members of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, including Hermoso, and nearly 50 other professional women soccer players, said they would not play again for the country until Rubiales is removed from his position.

Eleven members of the Spanish national women’s programme jointly announced their resignation Saturday. The announcement was shared by Spain’s women’s U20 coach Sonia Bermúdez. Even coach Jorge Vilda has joined the criticism.

The resignations included most of the women’s national team coaching staff, including assistant coaches Montserrat Tomé Vázquez, Eugenio Gonzalo and Javier Lerga. Women’s national team head coach Jorge Vilda did not resign.

In their statement, the group cited several reasons that led to their decision to quit and expressed their “strongest and deepest condemnation” of Rubiales’s behavior.

The statement referenced Rubiales’ “unacceptable attitudes and statements,” and pointed out that the explanation he offered on Friday “does not reflect in any way what was felt by (Hermoso), who expressly said that she felt to be ‘the victim of an aggression.’”

The coaches also said they were instructed to attend the RFEF assembly where Rubiales announced his intention to stay in his post, and that “various of the women members of the coaching staff were required to sit in the front row” in an effort to give the impression that they supported the embattled president.

Spain’s men’s national team head coach Luis de la Fuente also issued a statement Saturday condemning the actions and behaviour of Rubiales.

De la Fuente criticised the “wrong and out-of-place behaviour by the RFEF President” and said that Rubiales’ actions were “not appropriate for someone who was representing the entirety of Spanish football.”

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