Rubiales apologizes for Hermoso kiss: I made a mistake, it was made without bad faith in a moment of euphoria

Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish football federation, has apologized and admitted he made a mistake by kissing Jenni Hermoso on the mouth during the medal ceremony at the Women's World Cup.

Spain won the Women's World Cup final 1-0 against England, after which Rubiales shared a moment with Hermoso that quickly went viral and that was criticized by many.

Luis Rubiales' apology

On Monday, the Spanish FA sent out a video in which Rubiales apologized for the incident.

"There is something I regret and that is what happened between me and a player, a player with whom I have a magnificent relationship, as I do with others," he said.

"I have to admit I made a mistake because, in a moment of maximum euphoria, without any bad intentions or bad faith on either side, what happened happened.

"It was very spontaneous, without any bad faith from any party.

"Here, we saw it as something normal, but outside it seems to have caused an uproar.

"It seems people have been hurt by this and I have to apologize.

"I'll try to learn from this and understand that, when you are president of an institution as important as the Spanish football federation, you have to be more careful, especially in ceremonies and in these types of matters."

As well as apologizing for the kiss, the president also lamented a statement he made on Sunday night when he said it was "idiotic" that people cared about this incident.

"I also want to apologise to these people, because I understand that if it was seen in a different way from the outside then they will surely have their reasons for that," the president added.

"I'm sad that the celebration of this great success, our second World Cup, has been tarnished in some way by this.

"I think we have to give credit to these women and the team led by Jorge Vilda, and this has to be celebrated in a major way."