Rubiales has been widely condemned for his conduct after Spain's FIFA Women's World Cup victory in Australia last week, including kissing Jennifer Hermoso on the lips during the presentation ceremony and grabbing his crotch in the Presidential box at the Stadium Australia in Sydney.

He was elected as RFEF President in 2018 and to the UEFA Executive Committee the following year, but there had been criticism before the Women's World Cup over how the national governing body had handled concerns expressed by 15 members of Spain's women's team over the management of Jorge Vilda.

His behaviour after Spain's historic victory has been condemned as "appalling", "shameful" and "embarrassing" and his attempts to plead innocence including claims the kiss was "mutual and consensual" and the threat of legal action have sparked further anger.

Hermoso has insisted she did not consent to being kissed and claimed she had faced pressure from the RFEF to publicly defend Rubiales.

Spain's World Cup-winning players have vowed they will not play for the country again while Rubiales remains in his position, and the entire coaching staff except Vilda have resigned.

Spanish prosecutors have launched a preliminary investigation into whether the incident with Hermoso amounts to sexual assault.

Rubiales' position appears untenable and he has already been suspended from office for 90 days by FIFA, but he has resisted calls to resign, leading to the Spanish Government seeking his removal by filing a complaint with the Administrative Sports Court.

He received applause from some delegates at last week's RFEF Extraordinary General Assembly in which he vowed not to step down and attacked "fake feminism", having widely been expected to resign at the gathering.

Any backing he received from regional Presidents of Spanish football has been withdrawn, with "recent events and the unacceptable examples of behaviour that have seriously damaged the image of Spanish football" cited in a collective statement.

"We will urge the corresponding bodies to carry out a wholesale, immediate and organic restructuring process of strategic positions in the Federation in order to bring in a new management role in Spanish football," they said.

Interim President Pedro Rocha has also been asked to revoke a request from the RFEF to UEFA for Spain to be suspended from international competitions because of Government interference.

The Associated Press reported UEFA will not comply with this request which could have led to Spanish clubs being banned from the UEFA Champions League, citing a source familiar with the issue.

Rubiales' role as vice-president with UEFA is believed to provide an annual salary of €250,000 (£214,000/$270,000) plus expenses.

UEFA is yet to comment on the Rubiales controversy, but has been approached by insidethegames for a response to the RFEF regional leaders' statement.

British newspaper the Daily Mail has reported FIFA is seeking a maximum permitted ban of 15 years for Rubiales from involvement in football.

In another remarkable development to the saga yesterday, Rubiales' mother Ángeles Béjar went on hunger strike in a church in his home town of Motril.

Clubs in Spain's top men's professional league La Liga showed support for Hermoso over the weekend, with players from Sevilla wearing tee-shirts bearing the slogan "it's over".

Hundreds of people attended a protest against Rubiales in Madrid yesterday.

The Rubiales furore comes at a time when Spain is bidding for the 2030 men's FIFA World Cup with Portugal and Morocco, and possibly Ukraine.