The case of Rubiales – and Jorge Vilda, let’s not forget – has stirred memories and anger of Nacho Quereda’s behaviour, too – the former long-term coach of the Spanish women’s team.

Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales’ behaviour at the World Cup final on Sunday (20 August) “ruined” Spain’s victory celebrations, England international Jess Carter has said.

Speaking to ITV, the Lioness described Rubiales’ decision to kiss Jenny Hermoso as “unacceptable” and questioned if a similar incident would occur in the men’s game.

Carter said: “For me, Spain have just achieved an incredible thing and it’s almost been tarnished a little bit by one person’s actions.

“That moment ruined what should have been only a massive celebration for Spain and for Jenny Hermoso.”

Spanish prosecutors at the top criminal court in the country have opened a preliminary investigation into Luis Rubiales’ actions to determine whether his kiss on Jenni Hermoso after the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney constitutes a crime of sexual assault.

The investigation is looking into whether Rubiales, the president of the country’s football federation, could be charged with committing an act of sexual aggression on Hermoso.

The prosecutors office had received six complaints over Rubiales’ conduct but had waited for the player to make an official complaint.

That came in the form of a statement Hermoso released Friday saying that she felt ‘vulnerable’ and at no point ‘consented to the kiss’ with Rubiales.

Opposition has steadily grown in response to Rubiales’ conduct and his strident defence of it. The Rfef has found itself under increasing pressure to take action with the federation currently in an emergency meeting to discuss the issue.

England’s Ella Toone has been speaking to BBC Breakfast about the situation around final opponents Spain.

“Spain were unbelievable throughout the tournament and they’ve won the World Cup which should be the main talking point.

“Yet it’s overshadowed by something which happened after the game which isn’t acceptable. The Lionesses all stand by Jennifer Hermoso,” Toone said.

“A couple of the girls, the leaders in the squad, got together and brought a statement that we all believe in and to show our support and solidarity, to show we’re thinking of Hermoso and show we want the right thing to be done.

“It doesn’t just go away with a sorry – which he hasn’t said either. We should be talking about the success of the World Cup and how much we’ve inspired the next generation. Hopefully the right thing is done.”

Right up until the moment that Luis Rubiales took the microphone at the Spanish federation on Friday afternoon, senior figures in Uefa were adamant he would resign. The expectation had even stopped some prominent football officials publicly speaking out.

What followed, even for a sport like this, left many involved “speechless”. It says more than any statement, mind, that Rubiales’s “jaw-dropping political speech” – to use the words of one shocked source – probably wasn’t the most consequential moment of the day. All of this will eventually lead to real action, way beyond words or Spanish football.

Four official complaints against Rubiales are now being investigated and they could ultimately see him banned from sport for anything between two to 15 years.

“This is the end,” Miquel Iceta, Spain’s minister for culture and sport, told El Pais. “This can’t continue like this.”

Spain’s deputy prime minister has strongly condemned the behaviour of FA president Luis Rubiales after he was accused of grabbing and kissed Women’s World Cup player Jenni Hermoso on the lips.

Yolanda Diaz said on Monday 28 August that male chauvinism was “systemic” in Spain and had been shown in its worst form when Mr Rubiales on Friday refused to resign as president of Spain’s soccer federation.

The behaviour of the Spanish FA and others closing ranks around Rubiales in the early days of this process highlights the scale of challenges women face – even with apparently incontrovertible evidence in their favour, says one BBC report.

“This is exactly why many women do not come forward to report harassment or abuse,” said Teresa Parker from Women’s Aid, a charity supporting women facing abuse, to the BBC. She added that what had happened would seem to many to go “beyond gaslighting”.

“We are being asked to ignore what you can see on film, and to dismiss a woman when she says she didn’t consent. It is an outrageous situation.”

In the same report, Laura Bates, the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, said: “What we are seeing here is powerful men closing ranks to protect one another with a deliberate and sustained campaign of gaslighting and victim-blaming on an international scale.

“The irony is that women are so often told an allegation is meaningless without evidence. But what we can see from this case is that even when the evidence is iron-clad the woman is disbelieved anyway, so we really can’t win.

“This happened on an international stage, witnessed by millions… and yet both Rubiales and the entire football institution told her she was wrong.”

Not all the protests appear to be in favour of dismissing Rubiales. El Mundo report that a small gathering outside the church where his mother is continuing her hunger strike held up banners demanding Jenni Hermoso, the player Rubiales kissed without consent, come forward with a real version of events which they clearly feel would exonorate the Rfef president. “The truth only has one way, Jenni, be honest!” and “Jenni, why don’t you tell the truth?” were read on the banners.

Protesters also “furiously attacked the government of Pedro Sánchez”, the report claims. One interviewed person in attendance suggested the government were criticising Rubiales and calling for his dismissal to “cover up other things”.

Spain’s football federation will meet urgently on Monday as its president, Luis Rubiales, faces a Fifa suspension and a storm of criticism over allegations he gave a player an unwanted kiss on the lips following Spain’s victory in the Women’s World Cup.

In addition, the Spanish federation has launched an internal investigation through its sexual violence protocol, which comes into action after a complaint is submitted.

Rubiales has steadfastly refused to resign over the incident involving player Jenni Hermoso last Sunday in Sydney, saying the kiss was consensual. Players and a string of coaches on the women’s squad are demanding his resignation, and the government also wants him to step down.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has called regional federations to an “extraordinary and urgent” meeting on Monday “to evaluate the situation in which the federation finds itself” following Rubiales’ suspension, a RFEF spokesperson said on Sunday.

“Our protocol is currently activated and in the midst of investigating the events, thus we demand the utmost respect for the right to privacy and dignity of all individuals involved,” said Maria Dolores Martinez Madrona, RFEF’s sexual violence protocol delegate, in a letter published by the federation.

Luis Rubiales is facing renewed calls to resign as the fallout from his actions during and after the Women’s World Cup final continues.

In the moments after Spain secured their first Women’s World Cup crown, Rubiales kissed midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent.

Footage subsequently emerged showing the 46-year-old grabbing his crotch in celebration during the win over England while stood in close proximity to Queen Letizia of Spain.

The former defender had been widely expected to step down from his role after calling a press conference on Friday 25 August, but instead attempted to justify his behaviour, describing the outcry after the final as “a social assassination”.

Here is a timeline of the Spanish FA president’s fall from grace: