Luis Rubiales, the president of Spain’s Royal Spanish Football Federation, has apologized for kissing a member of the Spanish women’s national team after a controversial incident.

In a video sent to the media by the federation, Rubiales said: “There is something I have to regret. Something that happened between me and a player. I was wrong. There were no bad intentions. It happened spontaneously, in a moment of emotion. We thought it was normal, but it caused a commotion in the nightclub. If anyone felt uncomfortable because of this, we need to apologize. There is no other option,” he said.

Rubiales grabbed Spanish forward Jenny Hermoso’s face and kissed her during the medal ceremony after the Spanish women’s soccer team beat England to win the Women’s World Cup on Sept. 20. Hermoso took to Instagram Live to express her displeasure, saying it was “not very nice,” and what Rubiales thought was an innocuous gesture turned into a sexual assault scandal. Journalists, fans, and even government officials came forward, calling the behavior “unacceptable” and demanding a public apology.

Eventually, Rubiales bowed his head in public. “Being the president of an important institution has taught me to be especially careful with this type of behavior,” he said, adding that he regretted that the incident had tarnished the celebration of the Spanish national team 먹튀검증.