Spanish striker Borja Iglesias has quit the men’s national team on Friday after federation president, Luis Rubiales refused to resign following his outrageous kiss on the lips of a star of the Women’s World Cup.
The Real Betis forward, who has played twice for his country, in March, took a stand against the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) chief’s decision to refuse to quit.
Rubiales, 46, got the world’s attention by grabbing Jennifer Hermoso by the head and kissed her on the lips during the medal ceremony after Spain beat England 1-0 to triumph in the final in Sydney on Sunday.
READ MORE: Spain Beat England To Win Their First Women’s World Cup
“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 types 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.”
