Spain’s government began a move to oust suspended football chief Luis Rubiales, who ended a week of silence by insisting he was the victim of a smear campaign.

Rubiales has come in for a storm of criticism and calls for his resignation for his behaviour during and after Spain’s recent Women’s World Cup triumph in Sydney. He kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips without consent and grabbed his crotch in a lewd victory gesture.

On Friday, a Spanish government legal panel handling sports issues opened a formal case against Rubiales — president of the Spanish Football Federation and a vice-president of Uefa — over his conduct that was televised globally, making him a national embarrassment.

Spain is hoping to remove him independently of a Fifa process that has already suspended him provisionally.

“When the eyes of the world were played on our players, his acts caused damage to our sport and our country that is difficult to repair,” said Miquel Iceta, Spain’s acting minister of culture and sport.

Following the decision by the panel, Rubiales made his first public statement since refusing to step down a week ago and claiming he was a victim of a “witch hunt” by “false feminists.”

“I committed some evident mistakes, for which I sincerely repent,” Rubiales said on Friday. He insisted the kiss with Hermoso was “mutual, consensual and occurred in a moment of euphoria”, something that the player firmly denies.