Spain opens case against soccer chief for World Cup kiss. Luis Rubiales breaks week-long silence

By CIARÁN GILES and JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish government legal panel is opening a case against suspended soccer chief Luis Rubiales. Miquel Iceta, acting minister of culture and sport, announced the move. Rubiales has come in for a storm of criticism and calls for his resignation for kissing a player on the lips without consent after Spain won the recent Women’s World Cup final in Sydney. FIFA has already suspended Rubiales for 90 days while it investigates so the Spanish decision will have little immediate effect. Spain is looking to remove him independently of the FIFA process. Rubiales is the president of the Spanish Football Federation and a vice president of UEFA. He ended a week of silence after the panel’s decision by insisting the kiss was consensual.