Former Spanish football boss who kissed player without consent pelted with eggs

The former head of Spain's football federation was pelted with eggs thrown by his own uncle as he released a memoir detailing an incident when he kissed a female player.

Luis Rubiales kissed Spanish forward Jenni Hermoso, the team's captain, during the 2023 Women's World Cup awards ceremony after she and her teammates had won the tournament.

He stepped down as president and was found guilty of sexual assault for the unsolicited kiss by a Spanish court earlier this year.

Rubiales was targeted at the launch of his book, Matar A Rubiales (Killing Rubiales) - a 500-page account of his professional demise.

He was forced to quickly spin away to avoid at least two of the eggs, with one splattering on a screen nearby.

Rubiales told reporters: "A man entered, who I later saw was my uncle, who is a troubled man, and always has been.

"He had some eggs and threw some at me, but I didn't know what he had in his hands, and when I first saw him I thought he might be carrying a weapon."

Video footage of the incident at the World Cup, in which Rubiales grabbed Ms Hermoso's head and kissed her on the lips, sparked outrage.

Ms Hermoso insisted she had not given permission for the kiss, and Rubiales had "stained one of the happiest days" of her life and "disrespected" her.

Rubiales has always denied that he kissed Ms Hermoso without her consent.

He later lost an appeal against his conviction. The court said he had managed to restrain himself when interacting with other players and "could also have done so, without too much effort, with the captain".