Spanish striker Borja Iglesias quit the men’s national team on Friday after federation president Luis Rubiales refused to resign following his unsolicited kiss on the lips of a star of the Women’s World Cup.
The Real Betis forward, who has played twice for his country, most recently in March, took a stand against the Spanish football federation (RFEF) chief’s decision to refuse to quit.
Rubiales, 46, provoked world outrage by grabbing Hermoso by the head and kissing her on the lips during the medal ceremony after Spain beat England 1-0 to triumph in the final in Sydney on Sunday.
“As a player and as a person I do not feel represented by what happened,” said Iglesias on social network X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Wearing the Spain shirt is one of the best things that has happened to me in my career.
“I don’t know if in another moment I will be available again, but I have taken the decision not to return to the national team until things change, and these type of acts don’t go unpunished.”
He added he was acting “for a more just, human and decent football.”
In refusing to stand down on Friday, Rubiales said in a defensive and fiery speech at a football federation emergency meeting that he was suffering a public “assassination” and railed against “false feminism”.
The federation president claimed his kiss was “mutual, euphoric and consensual.”