FIFA opens disciplinary case against Spanish official who kissed player at World Cup

FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against the soccer official who kissed a player on the lips after the Women's World Cup, the world's governing body of soccer said Thursday.

FIFA will determine whether Spanish Soccer Federation president Luis Rubiales violated its code relating to “the basic rules of decent conduct, which are found in Article 13 of the FIFA disciplinary code.

“FIFA reiterates its unwavering commitment to respecting the integrity of all individuals and strongly condemns any behavior to the contrary,” FIFA said in a statement. "The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will only provide further information on these disciplinary proceedings once it has issued a final decision on the matter."

Rubiales kissed Spain's Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy presentation after Spain’s 1-0 victory over England in the finals of the World Cup.

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Hermoso issued a statement on the matter.

"My union, FUTPRO, in coordination with my agency, TMJ, are taking care of defending my interests and being the interlocutors on this matter," the statement said.

FIFA has a section in its bylaws concerning "offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play," adding all players, officials, and clubs "must respect the Laws of the Game, as well as the FIFA Statutes and FIFA’s regulations, directives, guidelines, circulars and decisions, and comply with the principles of fair play, loyalty and integrity.

Any person who fails to adhere to those laws is subject to disciplinary action.

Examples of acts that fall under purview include "insulting a natural or legal person in any way, especially by using offensive gestures, signs or language; using a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature; d) behaving in a way that brings the sport of football and/or FIFA into disrepute; actively altering the age of players shown on the identity cards they produce at competitions that are subject to age limits.