Shamed ex-Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales accuses Jenni Hermoso of 'false feminism' over World Cup 'kissgate' scandal and claims he's only facing prison for sexual assault 'because he's a man'

Luis Rubiales has accused Jenni Hermoso of 'false feminism' after the World Cup 'kissgate' scandal that could see him sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.

The former Spanish football federation president faces charges of sexual assault for the 'unwanted' kiss and coercion linked to his alleged attempts to get Hermoso to speak out in his defence.

Rubiales - who was arrested upon his return to Spain from the Dominican Republic on Wednesday as part of an unrelated corruption investigation - has spoken about 'kissgate' in an interview with broadcaster La Sexta.

Rubiales, 46, kissed Hermoso on the lips as she stepped up to receive her medal following Spain's victory over England in the Women's World Cup final in August last year.

'I have a clear conscience. Things have become crazy. A small thing has gone on to devour a person,' he said.

'I wanted to be calm and get out of the spotlight. False feminism? What I said is said.

'I defend egalitarianism. Feminism advocates supporting women to achieve equality.'

He added: 'For me there is no crime. It's my opinion. I asked her the question [over the kiss] and she said: 'Okay'.

'You can't question Hermoso. I can. Is it because I'm a man? They want to curtail freedom of thought.'

Elsewhere in the interview, broadcast on Wednesday night, Rubiales said he couldn't understand why the 'kissgate' scandal would be labelled as sexual assault.

He said: 'I cannot understand that anyone could think this was a sexual assault' before rejecting any coercion by saying: 'I only spoke 10 or 15 seconds with Miss Hermoso.' 

Rubiales, who went to the Dominican Republic earlier this year for work reasons, reacted angrily to claims by interviewer Ana Pastor that his defence has involved attacking the football player. 

Last month public prosecutors involved in the 'Kissgate' case said they were seeking a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for Rubiales.

They said, in an indictment sent to Madrid-based judge Francisco de Jorge, they wanted him jailed for a year if he was found guilty at trial of sexual assault and another 18 months for coercion linked to his alleged attempts to get the footballer to speak out in his defence following his World Cup kiss.

The corruption probe is linked to alleged financial irregularities during his time as head of the Spanish FA and focuses on business deals thought to include one to hold the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. 

Rubiales was arrested by police on Wednesday after being escorted off a flight back to Madrid from the Caribbean.

Detectives were waiting for him as he stepped off an Air Europa plane from the Dominican Republic which landed at Madrid's Barajas Airport just before 11am local time.

Police confirmed he had been released just after 1.30pm ahead of an expected court summons where he will be questioned by a judge behind closed doors. 

His home in the southern Spanish city of Granada was one of several properties searched on March 20 but he was already in the Caribbean.

Rubiales had already said he would return to Spain and insisted it would be on April 6 but overnight it emerged he had changed his travel plans.

He brought forward his voluntary return after a Spanish police operation in the Dominican Republic on Monday with assistance from local officers.

Officers from the Civil Guard's Central Operative Unit, a specialist division of the police force responsible for investigation and prosecution of the most serious forms of crime and organised crime, are said to have confiscated his phone and a laptop during a reported search of the property he has been staying at on the Caribbean island.

Spanish outlet El Mundo said police investigators have concluded Rubiales diverted at least £3.24million (€3.8 million) from the Spanish FA to a construction firm that paid him kickbacks through a company controlled by a close friend.