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Spanish Football Federation regional leaders have called on their president Luis Rubiales to immediately resign after he kissed player Jenni Hermoso.<\/p>\n
Rubiales, 46, has been widely criticised after the incident following Spain\u2019s Women\u2019s World Cup final win.<\/p>\n
Hermoso, 33, said the kiss on her lips was not consensual.<\/p>\n
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Earlier, Spanish prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into whether the incident amounts to a crime of sexual assault.<\/p>\n
In other developments on Monday, Rubiales\u2019 mother Angeles Bejar locked herself in a Spanish church and went on a\u00a0hunger strike\u00a0in protest of the treatment of her son. In the evening, hundreds of people gathered in the centre of Madrid in protests called by feminist groups in support of Hermoso and against Rubiales.<\/p>\n
Rubiales was\u00a0suspended on Saturday\u00a0by world football\u2019s governing body Fifa, a day after he had\u00a0insisted he would not resign\u00a0and claimed the kiss was \u201cmutual and consensual\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter recent events and the unacceptable behaviour that has seriously damaged the image of Spanish football, the presidents request that Luis Rubiales resign immediately as president of the RFEF,\u201d the federation (RFEF) said in a statement on Monday, after an extraordinary meeting of its regional presidents.<\/p>\n
The presidents also gave their \u201cunanimous support\u201d to interim RFEF chief Pedro Rocha and called for an overhaul of the federation\u2019s management.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will urge the relevant authorities to carry out a profound and imminent organisational restructuring in strategic positions of the federation in order to make way for a new stage in the management of Spanish football,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n
When Fifa announced Rubiales had been suspended on Saturday, it ordered him, the RFEF and its officials and employees not to attempt to contact Hermoso, whom the RFEF had threatened with legal action earlier that day.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Spain\u2019s Sports Tribunal (TAD) also met on Monday to discuss the Spanish government\u2019s request to suspend Rubiales, with a decision yet to be announced.<\/p>\n Protestors applaud during a demonstration called by feminist associations in support of Spain\u2019s midfielder Jenni Hermoso<\/em><\/p>\n Preliminary investigation opened<\/strong><\/p>\n Spain\u2019s top criminal court said it was opening its investigation in light of the \u201cunequivocal nature\u201d of Hermoso\u2019s statements, saying it was necessary \u201cto determine their legal significance\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven the public statements made by Jennifer Hermoso, the sexual act she was subjected to by Luis Rubiales was not consensual,\u201d a statement said.<\/p>\n Legal experts will also contact the player \u201cto offer her the option of legal action, giving her the chance to contact National Court prosecutors within 15 days for information about her rights as a victim of an alleged sexual assault should she wish to file a complaint\u201d.<\/p>\n The statement added: \u201cIn order to proceed with a case for sexual assault, harassment or sexual abuse, it will be necessary for the injured party or their legal representative to file suit, or the public prosecutors\u2019 office.\u201d<\/p>\n Rubiales\u2019 mother goes on hunger strike<\/strong><\/p>\n The church in Motril has become the centre of media activity<\/em><\/p>\n Rubiales\u2019 mother Angeles Bejar has locked herself in the Divina Pastora church in Motril on the southern Spanish coast \u2013 the town where her son was raised \u2013 and says she has gone on a hunger strike because of the \u201cinhuman hunt\u201d against him.<\/p>\n She told Spanish news agency EFE the strike would continue \u201cindefinite, day and night\u201d \u2013 and added the \u201cinhuman and bloody hunt that they are doing with my son is something he does not deserve\u201d.<\/p>\n Rubiales\u2019 cousin Vanessa Ruiz, who acts as a family spokesperson in Motril, said: \u201cWe are suffering a lot for him. He has been judged before his time.<\/p>\n \u201cThey [the media] don\u2019t stop harassing us. We had to leave our house. We want them to leave us alone and for Jenni to tell the truth. It\u2019s not fair.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Male chauvinism systemic in Spain\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Spain\u2019s acting labour minister Yolanda Diaz said on Monday that male chauvinism was \u201csystemic\u201d in the country and had been shown in its worst form in the incident involving Rubiales.<\/p>\n Diaz, who is also deputy prime minister and head of the far-left Sumar coalition, called for social attitudes to change more generally in the country \u2013 and for victims of sexual harassment and violence to be better protected. \u201cOn Friday we saw the worst of Spanish society, of the structural machismo of this country,\u201d she said after meeting with representatives of the women\u2019s players\u2019 union Futpro, which represents Hermoso.<\/p>\n \u201cThey clapped and humiliated and made fun of a person they had the obligation to protect under the sports law and far from doing that, they inflicted more damage, more pain, more vexation.\u201d<\/p>\n READ ALSO<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Protestors](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/_130923674_gettyimages-1629268982.jpg\")
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