Spanish prosecutors have launched a preliminary sexual assault investigation into FA president Luis Rubiales after he kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips following the Women's World Cup final.
Hermoso said the kiss in Sydney on 20 August was not consensual and Rubiales has since been suspended by FIFA.
Rubiales has been widely criticised following the incident but has refused to step down.
An investigation has been opened, with a statement from the Spanish national court reading: "Prosecutors from the National Court have opened a preliminary investigation to look into the facts, which could constitute an offence of sexual assault."
Jenni Hermoso said the kiss in Sydney on 20 August was not consensual and Rubiales has since been suspended by FIFA
Reuters
The statement suggested the court would offer Hermoso a chance to file a lawsuit.
It comes after Rubiales' mother Angeles Bejar locked herself in a church in his hometown of Motril and is on hunger strike over the "inhuman" treatment of her son.
She told Spanish news agency EFE the strike would continue "indefinite, day and night" and added the "inhuman and bloody hunt that they are doing with my son is something he does not deserve".
Rubiales' cousin Vanessa Ruiz added: "We are suffering a lot for him. He has been judged before his time. They don't stop harassing us. We had to leave our house. We want them to leave us alone and for Jenni to tell the truth. It's not fair."
The football chief's provisional suspension will last an initial period of 90 days.
During the ceremony Rubiales claimed he had been lifted up by Hermoso and then asked if he could give her a “peck”.
He insisted that the midfielder replied saying: “OK.”
In a statement, Hermoso said: “I feel the need to denounce what happened because I believe that no person, in any work, sports or social environment, should be a victim of this type of non-consensual behaviour.
“I felt vulnerable and the victim of an aggression, an impulsive, machista (chauvinistic) act, out of place and without any consent on my part.
"Simply put, I was not respected.
“I want to reiterate that I do not have to support the person who has committed this action against my will, without respecting me, in a historic moment for me and for women’s sport in this country.”
