Luis Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, has come under fire for kissing a player on the lips after the World Cup final.

The surprise kiss happened during the award ceremony after the final, where Spain were victorious over England.

As the Spanish team received their medals, some received a kiss on the cheek from Rubiales, but only Jennifer Hermoso was kissed on the lips.

Rubiales is seen embracing the midfielder before clutching his hands on either side of her face and pulling it towards his and kissing her on the lips, before releasing her.

After the incident, when the team was back in the locker room, Hermoso reportedly said she “didn’t like it”.

However, in a later statement, Hermoso described the kiss as a “spontaneous mutual gesture”.

“It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture because of the immense joy that winning a World Cup brings,” she told AFP, according to The Guardian.

“The president and I have a great relationship, his behaviour with all of us has been outstanding and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.”

Tweet from @Iam_Olamide10

Fans call for president’s resignation

People were quick to call out the incident on social media, with many people saying it was “not okay” for the president of the federation to do such a thing.

“The concerning fact here is the nonchalant manner Rubiales behaves towards Hermoso,” a tweet from @SHEscoresbangers, an account dedicated to women’s football said. 

“The FA president does this on the biggest stage of the sport with royalty and officials near him, surrounded by cameras. 

“Very disturbing, and frankly, concerning.”

Tweet from @molly_mcelwee

In response to the tweet, sports reporter Molly McElwee acknowledged that standing up on the podium was likely one of Hermoso’s proudest moments, which was tarnished by the kiss.

Rubiales dismissed the outrage over the moment and said there were “idiots all over”.

“The kiss with Jenni? There are idiots all over,” he said according to CNN.

“When two people have a moment of affection without any importance, we can’t listen to idiocy. We’re champions and I stay with that.”

People have been calling for Rubiales’ resignation in the light of the kiss.