Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales expected to resign following inappropriate World Cup kiss
The president of the Spanish Football Association is expected to resign, following uproar over kissing a Women's World Cup champion.
An emergency meeting of the federation's general assembly was called on Friday regarding the fate of president Luis Rubiales.
It is expected Rubiales will step down before representatives of Spain's regional federations, clubs, players and coaches.
The federation has refused to comment on repeated requests from The Associated Press for confirmation of Rubiales's departure, which was reported late on Thursday.
Rubiales, 46, is under immense pressure to leave his post since he grabbed player Jenni Hermoso and kissed her on the lips without her consent during the awards ceremony of the Women's World Cup final.
The incident occurred following Spain's 1-0 victory over England last Sunday in Sydney.
Global governing body FIFA opened a disciplinary case against Rubiales on Thursday.
Its disciplinary committee is tasked with weighing whether Rubiales violated its code relating to "the basic rules of decent conduct" and "behaving in a way that brings the sport of football and/or FIFA into disrepute".
Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called Rubiales's attempt to apologise, which came after criticism, unconvincing and that "he must continue taking further steps" to be held accountable.
The nation's governing sports body, Spain's Higher Council of Sports, pledged it would act quickly to consider various formal complaints filed against Rubiales to see if he had broken Spain's sports law or the federation's own code of conduct.
If so, Rubiales would face being declared unfit to hold his office by Spain's Administrative Court for Sports.
A key contributor to Spain's win, Hermoso said "I did not like it, but what could I do?" about the kiss during a social media stream immediately after the incident.
An initial statement, released in Hermoso's name, then downplayed the incident.
Later, local sports website Relevo.com said the federation had coerced Hermoso into making the statement.
The federation has denied this to The Associated Press.
On Wednesday, Hermoso issued a statement through her players' union saying it would speak on her behalf.
The players' union said it would do all it could to ensure the kiss does "not go unpunished".
Rubiales was also seen kissing other players during post-match celebrations on the pitch.
He appeared to grab his genitals in another video while standing next to Spain's Queen Letizia and her daughter Sofia.
