RFEF president Rubiales apologises for Hermoso kiss

The president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, has come out to apologise for kissing Jennifer Hermoso on the lips after their World Cup triumph. 

Following Spain's World Cup triumph over the Three Lionesses, a bizarre incident that shocked many occurred.  

While the champions were receiving their medals, the Spanish Federation's president, Rubiales, in a burst of excitement, kissed the country's all-time top scorer, Hermoso, on the lips.  

Asked about the kiss after, the former Barcelona Femini striker said, “What am I supposed to do? Eh, but I didn’t like it.”

However, she later said she shared a good relationship with the president before suggesting that the kiss was a mutual show of affection “It was a mutual gesture, totally spontaneous due to the immense joy that winning a World Cup brings.”

The football administrator received huge backlash for his gesture and was initially dismissive of the criticism. 

In a previous report, he stated that "idiots" were blowing the incident out of proportion and suggested that the kiss was mutual.

After continued backlash, including a statement by Spain's minister of culture criticising Rubiales's act, he has now apologised.  

"Surely I was wrong, it was a moment of maximum effusiveness,” he said via a video posted by Marca.

"I have to learn from this and that when you are president of an institution as important as the Federation you have to be more careful."