WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Spanish federation chief refuses to resign over kiss scandal
Spanish soccer boss Luis Rubiales refused to quit on Friday for kissing World Cup star Jenni Hermoso on the lips after Spain’s World Cup victory, fuelling anger among players and government ministers who decried his actions as unacceptable macho behaviour.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Rubiales complained that “false feminists” were “trying to kill me”.
He described the kiss as a “little peck” that was “spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and consensual”.
“Is a consensual peck going to take me out of here? I won’t resign. I will fight until the end,” Rubiales said, drawing applause from the predominantly male audience.
Criticism of Rubiales’s behaviour has built throughout the week. The incident occurred while the players were being handed their medals after they beat England 1-0 in the World Cup final in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday.
As players filed past, Rubiales grabbed Hermoso by the head and planted a kiss on her mouth.
The government confirmed on Friday it will take the incident before a sport tribunal where, if it can be proven the kiss was non-consensual, he could be tried under a sexual violence law introduced by the ruling Socialists last year.
Rubiales’ speech at the RFEF assembly drew immediate condemnation from acting Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz, who described it as “unacceptable”.
“The government must act and take urgent measures: impunity for macho actions is over. Rubiales cannot continue in office,” Diaz wrote on social media.
Acting Equality Minister Irene Montero said the state prosecutor and the state-run sport council (CSD) should act to protect Hermoso.
Gender issues have become a prominent topic in Spain in recent years. Tens of thousands of women have taken part in street marches protesting sexual abuse and violence.
The Socialist-led coalition government has presided over a raft of legal reforms, including around equal pay, abortion, sex work and transgender rights.
Rubiales, 46, said in his speech that it was Hermoso who initiated physical contact by lifting him off the ground by his hips. He said he asked Hermoso if he could give her “a little peck” and she said “OK”.
Full footage of the medal awards ceremony was not broadcast on Spanish television.
“This is unacceptable. It´s over. We´re with you, teammate Jenni Hermoso,” her teammate Alexia Putellas said on X.
Some male players also protested. Borja Iglesias of Real Betis, who last played for Spain in 2022, said on X he would not put himself forward for selection for the national team “until things change and these kinds of acts don’t remain unpunished”.
At the event on Sunday, Rubiales was also seen grabbing his crotch in celebration while standing next to Queen Letizia in a box at the stadium, for which he apologized on Friday.
FIFA opened disciplinary procedures against him on Thursday after Hermoso said in a statement her union was working to defend her interests and that such acts should “never go unpunished”.
The football players union FIFPro said in a statement it had written to UEFA, where Rubiales is vice president, requesting that it also start disciplinary proceedings.
“I am embarrassed by the shame that it continues to be for Spanish football to have a president of the (RFEF) who continues to cling to office,” FIFPro President David Aganzo said.
Three members of the assembly interviewed by Reuters as they left Friday’s meeting said they were caught by surprise as they had expected Rubiales to resign.
The members from Galicia and Andalusia, who declined to give their names, said they felt the issue was overblown, a sentiment they said was shared by most of the members present. Only about half of the membership was present.
Rubiales met with key federation members shortly before the assembly and told them about his plans not to resign, according to a federation source.
The only person who objected was Rafael del Amo, president of the national committee for women’s football, who said he would step down from his roles, which also included the vice presidency of the federation.
-Reuters
- * Five players sought asylum after being called ‘wartime traitors’
- * Australian Federal Police moved players to a safe location
- *Asylum offer remains open for other squad members
Australian police extracted five Iranian women soccer players from the team’s hotel before they were granted asylum, the interior minister said on Tuesday, as details of their escape from Iranian government minders emerged.
The five players, including team captain Zahra Ghanbari, sought protection after the team were branded “wartime traitors” for refusing to sing their national anthem before an Asian Cup match.
Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Climate Change Chris Bowen attend a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, March 10, 2026. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas/via REUTERS
The team’s Asian Cup campaign began as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran and Australian media reported the team had been accompanied by Iranian government officials who were controlling their movements.
Conversations with the players about seeking asylum had been ongoing for several days, Interior Minister Tony Burke told a press conference as he confirmed the women had been granted asylum in Australia.
The players granted asylum were Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali Alishah, Mona Hamoudi and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh – all in their early 30s – as well as 21-year-old Fatemeh Pasandideh.
MOVED TO SAFETY
The five players were moved to a safe location by the Australian Federal Police on Monday evening, where they remain under their protection, Burke said.
Even before their defection, Australia had deployed its own officers to protect the women.
“There’s been a good police presence at different points, and we just made sure that opportunity was there,” he said.
Once immigration officials completed the processing of the women’s humanitarian visas around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday (1530 GMT Monday), celebrations broke out among those present.
“Once everything had been signed off last night, there were lots of photos, lots of celebrating, and then a spontaneous outcry of ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi’,” Burke said.
“These women are great athletes, great people, and they’re going to feel very much at home in Australia.”
TEAMMATES
Four of the players are teammates at the Bam Khatoon club, which has won the Iranian women’s championship a record 11 times and is where Ghanbari also played until she moved to Persepolis for this season.
Captain Ghanbari was suspended for several days in 2024 after her hijab, the head covering that all Iranian women players must wear, slipped off during a goal celebration in an Asian Champions League fixture.
Iran players pose prior to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Group A match between Iran and the Philippines at Gold Coast Stadium on the Gold Coast, Australia, March 8, 2026. Dave Hunt/AAP Image/via REUTERS
The 33-year-old striker, Iran’s record international goalscorer in the women’s game, was allowed to return to play only after she and Bam Khatoon issued apologies.
Ghanbari’s head scarf also slipped off her head several times during Iran’s final Asian Cup match against the Philippines on Sunday, when defeat ended their participation in the tournament.
Burke said the offer of asylum remained open for the other 21 members of the squad who were still at the Gold Coast hotel, though he said it was likely some would return home to Iran.
“These women have been weighing up an incredibly difficult decision,” he said.
-Reuters
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The Iranian soccer team sang and saluted their national anthem ahead of their final Women’s Asian Cup match against the Philippines on Sunday, six days after their decision to remain silent saw them labelled “wartime traitors” on state TV back home.
The Iranians, whose situation had become a cause celebre among human rights campaigners, will play no further part in the tournament after a 2-0 loss to the Philippines at Gold Coast Stadium in the state of Queensland.
Iran coach Marziyeh Jafari told the post-match news conference that the team was keen to return home.
“We are very impatiently waiting to return,” she told reporters. “Personally, I would like to return to my country as soon as possible and be with my compatriots and family.”
Some fans, who had waved the pre-1979 Iranian flag and booed the national anthem inside the ground, tried to prevent the team coach from leaving the stadium precinct, chanting “Save our girls!”.
Reza Pahlavi, an American-based opposition activist and son of the Shah of Iran who was deposed in the 1979 revolution, called on the Australian government to ensure the team’s safety and give them any needed support.
‘ONGOING THREAT’
“The members of the Iranian Women’s National Football Team are under significant pressure and ongoing threat from the Islamic Republic,” he posted on social media platform X.
“As a result of their brave act of civil disobedience in refusing to sing the current regime’s national anthem, they face dire consequences should they return to Iran.”
The team’s campaign in Australia started last weekend just as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on their homeland, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The players declined to sing the anthem before their loss to South Korea in their tournament opener on March 2, a decision a commentator on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting said showed a lack of patriotism and was the “pinnacle of dishonour”.
They did sing the anthem and saluted before their second defeat against the host nation on Thursday, sparking fears among Australian human rights campaigners that they had been coerced by government minders
A petition launched on Friday on the Change.org website urging Australia to give refuge to the team had gathered more than 51,000 signatures late on Sunday.
The petition called on Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke to ensure the team did not depart Australia “while credible fears for their safety remain”.
Burke declined to comment on the petition via a spokesperson. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in televised remarks that she did not want to “get into commentary about the Iranian women’s team”.
“Obviously this is a regime that we know has brutally cracked down on its people,” she said.
Players union FIFPRO had previously called on the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA to uphold their human rights obligations and undertake all necessary steps to ensure the safety of Iran’s squad in the wake of the broadcast.
–Reuters
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Japan delivered a ruthless attacking display to thrash India 11-0 on Saturday and book their place in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Asian Cup, while Taiwan secured their first win of the tournament with a narrow 1-0 victory over Vietnam in the other Group C match in Perth.
The Group C leaders, champions in 2014 and 2018, completely overwhelmed India at the Perth Rectangular Stadium, dominating possession and pinning their opponents deep inside their own half for most of the match. India failed to register a single shot as Japan’s relentless attack exposed the gulf in quality between the two sides.
Japan raced into an early lead in the fourth minute when Yuzuki Yamamoto curled in a superb opener before Yui Hasegawa added a second. Hinata Miyazawa then struck twice to extend the advantage, while Kiko Seike converted from the penalty spot to give Japan a commanding 5-0 lead at halftime.
Despite making three changes at the break, Japan showed no signs of easing off. Substitute Riko Ueki made an immediate impact, scoring twice within three minutes before completing her hat-trick in just 18 minutes after Maya Hijikata had also found the net.
Miyazawa rounded off the emphatic victory in the 81st minute to complete her own hat-trick, sealing an 11-0 scoreline that underlined Japan’s dominance as the highest-ranked team in Asia against an Indian side ranked 59 places below them.
Earlier in the day, Taiwan claimed their first victory of the tournament with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Vietnam.
Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the first half with a well-taken header to give the three-time Asian champions the lead in a contest where clear chances were limited.
Vietnam, who reached the quarter-finals in the previous edition, pushed forward in search of an equaliser and registered nine attempts on goal. However, none were on target as Taiwan’s disciplined defence held firm to preserve their slender advantage until the final whistle.
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