Manchester City have completed the £55.5million signing of Belgium winger Jeremy Doku from Rennes, the Premier League champions have announced.

The 21-year-old has signed a five-year deal with the treble winners to become their third major signing of the summer transfer window.

City had an offer for the player accepted earlier this week and formalities have been completed over the past couple of days.

Doku said: “This is a great day for me, both personally and professionally. Manchester City are the best team in world football, so to be joining them is something very special for me and my family.

“I am a young player with so much learning and improving to do. Working with (manager) Pep (Guardiola) and his staff, and playing alongside these world-class players, will make me a much better player. I feel sure of that.

“Watching City last season was amazing. To win the treble is the hardest thing in football and they did it. You cannot imagine how exciting it is to be joining this team. I cannot wait to get started. Hopefully I can make the fans happy.”

Doku came through the youth ranks at Anderlecht before joining Rennes in 2020.

Noted for his pace, he made his international debut in 2018 and featured at both Euro 2020 and last year’s World Cup.

He said: “I am quick, I am strong, I like to dribble. Those are my abilities that I like to rely on.

“I think the way I dribble, my speed – those are things that I can add to the group.

“Of course, the group is already a top group with a lot of top players, but I think that I can add that to the group.”

Doku’s arrival follows those of Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic earlier in the summer.

The club have also been linked with moves for midfielders Matheus Nunes and Eberechi Eze, of Wolves and Crystal Palace respectively, but have not commented on the speculation.

Guardiola’s midfield resources have been depleted following the departures of Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez this summer and with Doku’s international team-mate, Kevin De Bruyne, likely to be out injured for several months.

City director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “Jeremy is a very exciting young player and I’m so pleased he’s joining us.

“In terms of raw attributes, he has everything a winger needs. He has outstanding pace and he is exceptional in one-on-one situations.

“I honestly believe working with Pep and the technical staff here at City will see him develop into a world-class attacking talent.”

It has been a learning experience for the Young Sugar Girlz thus far as they continue to participate in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) U 14 Challenge Series tournament in Antigua and Barbuda.

Though they lost the matches they played in thus far and another match unfinished due to weather, the girls’ coaches were full of praise for what they have been able to achieve. The team is being coached by Jaheida Lewis and Kaneisa Byron. Coach Lewis emphasized how the tournament has been a learning experience for the coaches and players.

“This is a big learning experience for both the coaches and the players. For the players, especially, this tournament was much more serious and required them to be a bit more focused, and they were given more responsibilities as players. It's an honor for them to be playing for their country, respecting their country, and doing the best that they can to make their country proud,” she said.

Coach Byron noted that the players have come a long way. “They are aware of their shortcomings, both staff and players. And so we're just trying to see how best we can correct our mistakes and try to see, going forward how much we can use the lessons learned to put it in play and help us to come out with hopefully a better game," Byron said. "It's a learning process for us all, and I do believe if we continue, both players and coaches (as well as) parents and everyone; if we continue to encourage the girls, and help them to prepare for the game both mentally and physically, they'll be a lot better and ready for their next tournament, whenever that may be."

 The Young Sugar girls ended their CFU campaign with a 2-0 loss to Curacao on Wednesday. Up to the time of publication, they were expected to complete their unfinished match against Martinique at 7 p.m. Wednesday. That match was unfinished on Sunday due to rain.

Marco Silva admitted it will be really difficult to replace Aleksandar Mitrovic and to strengthen his squad as Fulham’s hunt for new players hots up ahead of the September 1 transfer deadline.

The Cottagers will be without the Serbian striker, who netted 14 goals in the Premier League last season, after they sold him for a club-record fee to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.

Silva hinted Fulham have left it too late to find the right profile of players to fill his under-sized squad with just one week before the market closes until January.

“In this moment in the market I have to say it is really difficult (to sign players) and this is the problem when you leave things until the last week of the market,” Silva said.

“I am 100 per cent sure even if we lose an important player for us (Mitrovic) that with time we would be able to sign a player that could help us but right now we are doing the maximum, so let’s see if it will be possible.

“Seven players left us at the end of the season and we lost Mitrovic too and we’ve just signed two so I think it’s clear to people how many players we need.

“If we are to sign a striker it needs to be the right one, it has to be someone who can have the right impact in our squad with the conditions to help us, this is the main thing for me.”

Fulham meet Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday in search of their first Premier League win over the Gunners since 2012.

Silva earmarked their opponents as one of the best teams in the competition and highlighted the size of the challenge at hand this weekend.

“Last year they played at a very good level, they are one of the best teams in the competition, they showed that last season and they will again this season, they are a tough team and at home even more with all the support which will make it a good challenge for us,” Silva added.

“I understand their two wingers (Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka) have the skills and the quality and (in) one v one they are also impressive. In the absence of Gabriel Jesus (Eddie) Nketiah is also doing really well and is a good solution for them.

“They signed (Kai) Havertz and (Declan) Rice who went straight into their 11, which means they reinforced their midfield really well and that shows the impact of the players in their squad.”

Tim Ream was shown a second yellow card after he gave away a penalty in Fulham’s 3-0 loss to Brentford last week.

Silva criticised referee Darren Bond’s decision to dismiss his captain and mentioned how important the centre-back has been over the last couple of seasons.

“He’s been a really important player for us in the last two seasons and he received an unfair red card,” Silva added.

“It will be the chance for Calvin (Bassey), who will start.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will look to bring in experience to fill a central defensive void after his injury situation worsened.

Cameron Carter-Vickers and Maik Nawrocki have both been ruled out for around eight weeks with hamstring injuries after Stephen Welsh was consigned to a similar length of absence with ankle ligament damage.

Carter-Vickers went off halfway through Celtic’s recent league win over Aberdeen, two games into his comeback from knee surgery, and his problem is worse than first feared.

Summer signing Nawrocki pulled up with a similar problem in the final seconds of Celtic’s Viaplay Cup defeat at Kilmarnock on Sunday.

The Celtic boss, who will also be missing centre-back Yuki Kobayashi until after their game against Rangers on September 3, said: “It is obviously disappointing for us in terms of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh, probably about eight weeks.

“Stephen Welsh had an operation just the other day so he has come through that well. The other two we were hopeful would come back sooner, but we sought further scans on them and it puts them probably about eight weeks from now.”

When asked if he would look for reinforcements in that area ahead of next week’s transfer deadline, Rodgers said: “When you are losing three players for that length of time, and knowing the number of games we will have and the importance of every game, then it’s definitely something we have to look at.”

One of Rodgers’ fit centre-backs, Gustaf Lagerbielke, was the club’s oldest of six summer signings at 23 years old, and the Celtic manager admits a new arrival would “ideally” be an experienced player.

“Especially at centre-half, it’s a specialised position and for me experience always helps,” he added.

“We have a lot of young players in the squad but, naturally, to bring those players on, they need to play with players, not just of experience, but players of quality.

“You need to hopefully align both because you will see the best of those players, the guys that are young and developing and dealing with expectation, if they can play alongside the guys that are going to them pull them through and bring out that potential.”

Rodgers backed Swede Lagerbielke to handle the added responsibility he faces in the coming weeks.

“He is a very mature guy for somebody who looks so young,” Rodgers said.

“But he is up to speed in terms of games. He had only arrived in the building a couple of days and he was thrown into a tough away game.

“But I’ve got absolutely no doubt he will prove over time to be an excellent player for Celtic and he is really up for the challenge.”

Former Shamrock Rovers defender Liam Scales could now be set to play his first Celtic game in 18 months after making 39 appearances on loan at Aberdeen last season.

“I said before I really like Liam,” Rodgers said. “There has been a partnership here for the last couple of years and with Carl (Starfelt) leaving and Cam being injured for a lot of pre-season and now, it means there is change there. With the numbers down, of course Liam will play a part.”

There was better news on the injury front for Rodgers with Canada right-back Alistair Johnston training well following an ankle injury and available for Saturday’s cinch Premiership encounter with St Johnstone in Glasgow.

Striker Oh Hyeon-gyu will return to training next week after a calf problem and could be back in the squad for the trip to Ibrox.

Winger Mikey Johnston is also due to return to training next week following a back injury but Reo Hatate’s calf problem will keep him out of the derby clash and the Japanese midfielder will return to training during the international break.

Celtic have been linked with a move for 23-year-old Honduran winger Luis Palma of Aris Thessaloniki and Rodgers is confident he will add an attacking option before next Friday’s transfer deadline.

“I think we will do that before the end of the window,” Rodgers said. “The game last week, we could have been 2-0 up in the first 10 minutes but after that, especially when Kilmarnock were in front, we just didn’t quite have that little bit of finesse and those moments of magic you need to break down teams that are low in the field. So we are hoping we can do that over the course of the coming days.”

Mauricio Pochettino said it is unrealistic to expect Chelsea’s summer recruits to be playing their best football for the club already, despite upwards of £350million having been spent so far this transfer window.

The team is winless after the manager’s first two games in charge with one point on the board in the nascent Premier League table, with flashes of good play having been punctuated by inconsistency as was the case in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to West Ham.

Their plight has been worsened by injuries to goalscorer Carney Chukwuemeka, who was forced off at half-time having equalised for his side and is expected to miss six weeks, and winger Mykhailo Mudryk who will also miss Friday’s meeting with Luton at Stamford Bridge.

The pair join summer signing Christopher Nkunku and defender Wesley Fofana as long-term injury absentees whilst none of Reece James, Benoit Badiashile, Armando Broja or Trevoh Chalobah are ready to return.

On Thursday the club confirmed the £17m signing of Brazilian forward Deivid Washington from Santos, though the 18-year-old may be sent out on loan rather than join the first team straight away.

It leaves Pochettino relying on new faces finding their feet quickly as the team look to win for just the sixth time in their last 32 league matches when newly promoted Luton visit west London.

But after record buy Moises Caicedo, signed from Brighton for a fee likely to rise to £115m, became the latest player to endure a torrid time in blue when he conceded a penalty on his debut at the London Stadium, the manager called for perspective on the pace of change taking place at Chelsea.

“(It’s unrealistic) if we expect today the best of Caicedo, (Romeo) Lavia, (Axel) Disasi, all the players that arrived in the last moments, with only a few days working with us and starting to compete,” he said.

“Of course, if we see the perception of these players and we expect the best of them, yes we should win every single game.

“But at the moment the form of them, we need to provide the tools to improve every day. The way that we are playing, the platform and the structure of the team, gives us the signal that we are in a good way. It’s only a matter of time to put it all together and start to perform.

“With the situation (with transfers) in and out, next week when the transfer window has closed it’s going to be easier also to put it all together. I have no doubt about the quality of the squad.”

With an average age of 23.7 years Pochettino has the Premier League’s youngest squad, following the club’s policy of signing promising players of relatively little experience and tying them to long contracts – in Caicedo’s case up to nine years.

The manager admitted he still needs to sign a goalkeeper, after Kepa Arrizabalaga joined Real Madrid on a season-long loan, and another forward player, but he insisted that any further buys should not bar the path of academy graduates and other young players to the first team.

Albania international Broja, who has been at the club since he was 12, is expected to play a part as a number nine when he is fit to return.

“We need to wait with Armando,” said Pochettino. “He’s close but sometimes the last step is always difficult after the injury that he suffered. He’s training well and we have hope.

“It’s easy to say we need another offensive player. We have offensive players, they need to recover. If you bring in a player that maybe is not fit or needs to adapt to the Premier League, you’re going to spend the same time you need to wait for Broja or Nkunku or for Carney. You’re going to create a mess in the squad.

“We will win, we will succeed in the way that the players will buy into the ideas and the philosophy and the way that we play, it’s only a matter of time. (But) it’s a process we cannot force to go quick. I think it’s about working on the confidence.”

The manager added that nothing has changed regarding Romelu Lukaku’s situation, with the striker still training away from the first team and keen to leave before the transfer deadline, but he refused to fully close the door on a possible return.

“Things can change. This is football. I saw (Jurgen) Klopp said ‘I will not be in the business (if Liverpool spend £100m)’ and then they offered £100m (for Caicedo) and he says, oh I made a mistake, and something changed.”

Caicedo is expected to make his full debut against Luton but fellow new signing Lavia “needs a few more weeks to assess”.

A limited number of replica Mary Earps goalkeeping shirts are finally being made available to buy by England kit manufacturer Nike.

Earps had said prior to the World Cup it was “hugely disappointing and very hurtful” that the replica kits were not available to purchase.

Calls for Nike to put things right have grown louder over the last week – including from former sports minister Tracey Crouch – after Earps saved a penalty for England in Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain, with the Lionesses ultimately slipping to a 1-0 defeat.

And the company has now acted, with a spokesperson saying on Thursday: “We’ve seen and share the unprecedented passion and interest in women’s football this year and remain committed to playing our part by offering the best products and services to athletes and fans.

“We invested more in this year’s World Cup than any other global tournament to date. Nike has secured limited quantities of goalkeeper jerseys for England, (the United States), France and the Netherlands to be sold through the federation websites over the coming days, and we are also in conversations with our other federation partners.

“We recognise that during the tournament we didn’t serve those fans who wished to show their passion and support to the squad’s goalkeepers. We are committed to retailing women’s goalkeeping jerseys for major tournaments in the future.”

Aymeric Laporte has completed his move from Manchester City to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, the Premier League champions have announced.

The Saudi Pro League outfit are understood to have paid a fee of £23.5million for the 29-year-old Spain defender, who has spent the past five-and-a-half years at the Etihad Stadium.

Laporte follows former City team-mate Riyad Mahrez to the Middle East country after the Algerian joined Al-Ahli earlier in the summer transfer window.

Laporte told City’s website, www.mancity.com: “I am proud to have represented Manchester City over the last six seasons.

“When I first joined, I was excited about the prospect of winning trophies. However, I could not have imagined the success we would go on to achieve together.

“I would like to thank the coaches, my team-mates and of course the brilliant City fans for all of their support throughout my time in Manchester.

“I will always be a City fan and I look forward to seeing you all again.”

Laporte, who joined City from Athletic Bilbao in a £57million deal in January 2018, won five Premier League titles, the Champions League and five domestic cups as a member of Pep Guardiola’s squad.

However, he had fallen down the pecking order at City over the past year and the recent arrival of Josko Gvardiol had pushed him further to the fringes.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will look to sign a centre-back after Cameron Carter-Vickers and Maik Nawrocki were ruled out for eight weeks.

Carter-Vickers went off halfway through Celtic’s recent league win over Aberdeen with a hamstring issue and the problem is worse than first feared.

Summer signing Nawrocki pulled up with with a similar problem towards the end of Celtic’s Viaplay Cup defeat at Kilmarnock on Sunday.

Rodgers was already facing at least the same amount of time without Stephen Welsh, who has had ankle surgery.

The Celtic boss, whose team host St Johnstone on Saturday, said: “It is obviously disappointing for us in terms of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh, probably about eight weeks.

“Stephen Welsh had an operation just the other day so he has come through that well.

“The other two we were hopeful would come back sooner, but we sought further scans on them and it puts them probably about eight weeks from now.”

When asked if he would look for reinforcements in that area ahead of next week’s transfer deadline, Rodgers said: “I think we have to look at it, there’s no doubt. It’s an area that we are light on.

“When you are losing three players for that length of time, and knowing the number of games we will have and the importance of every game, then it’s definitely something we have to look at.”

FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales in relation to his conduct at the World Cup final in Sydney on Sunday.

Rubiales has faced heavy criticism after he grabbed his crotch in celebration of Spain’s victory over England, while stood metres away from Spain’s Queen Letizia and her teenage daughter Sofia.

Rubiales then kissed Spain midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy celebration.

FIFA said in a statement issued on Thursday afternoon: “The FIFA disciplinary committee informed Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Football Association, today that it is opening disciplinary proceedings against him based on the events that occurred during the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ on August 20, 2023.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell admits he faces a major challenge to alleviate the lengthy absence of strikers Mika Biereth and Jon Obika.

Kettlewell has ruled Obika out until December with a hamstring injury and on-loan Arsenal striker Biereth will likely be missing until mid-November after suffering a knee injury against St Mirren.

Kettlewell – who has not changed his opinion on the tackle that injured Biereth – is limited in what he can do in the transfer market given the club’s spending increases in previous seasons.

He said: “I have always spoken about trying to run with four strikers minimum so that is a huge blow with the news on Mika and Jon Obika, it puts us down to two senior strikers in Theo (Bair) and Conor (Wilkinson).

“Jon Obika, we are probably looking at December. It’s a difficult one but it doesn’t change the situation for me. For us to do any more business, we are in a situation where we are one in, one out.

“It’s been a real tough week and a tough week without a blank canvas just to be able to pick up the reins and go and bring players in.

“But we will continue to work away and see if we can make the situation slightly better.”

Kettlewell declared 17-year-old Mark Ferrie was now “striker number three” while wide player Joe Efford can also play up front but has only had about 15 minutes of action since returning from a long-term thigh injury.

Barry Maguire’s loan move to Kidderminster last week opened a door for a potential new arrival.

“It might help us try and get one across the line,” Kettlewell said. “But the mindset wasn’t that it was in the striker situation at the time. We had been working away on something else trying to get a balance to our squad.

“The fact that (midfielder) Harry Paton has been out and (left-back) Pape Souare is out, it’s a little bit of spinning plates to make sure we have a balance to our squad. We feel Pape will miss several games.

“When I was looking at the start of the week, we had 14 fit senior players.”

Immediately after Saturday’s Viaplay Cup defeat, Kettlewell accused Charles Dunne of making an “absolutely horrendous tackle, two-footed and straight-legged” on Biereth.

In response, the former Motherwell defender claimed he won the ball but “unfortunately slipped” and caught the Denmark Under-21 international. Dunne has contacted Biereth to apologise.

When asked if he had a different opinion on studying the footage, Kettlewell said: “My opinion hasn’t changed.

“One of the things I heard was that he won the ball. What everyone needs to understand – and I need to stress, these aren’t my rules, anyone that watched me play football will realise I picked up more red cards than anybody else and was involved in more crazy challenges than anybody else – but the rules have changed.

“I have lost count of the times I have been told by officials that it doesn’t matter if you win the ball. If you are off the ground, coming in at pace, putting an opponent at risk of injury, coming off the ground, all of those aspects, I was led to believe that was a red card.

“I hear some ridiculous arguments of ‘ah, but he took the ball’… If you have to come through the player and both your legs are wrapped around the standing leg…

“I understand that Charles Dunne has reached out and apologised for the outcome of the challenge so I tip my cap to him and say fair play in that sense. But it doesn’t change the situation that it leaves us short at the top end of the park.”

What the papers say

Manchester City have seemingly pulled the plug on a move for West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta and are instead moving their focus towards 25-year-old Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze, the Times reports. City have reportedly been monitoring Eze for the last six months.

The Daily Mail says City are also interested in Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes. But the Daily Express reports the Molineux club are unlikely to sell him so close to the end of the transfer window unless City up their bid.

Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe is reportedly looking likely to move to the Saudi Pro League after rejecting a move to Besiktas, Metro reports.

Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku could land at Juventus, who would pay Chelsea £35million for his services, but only if the Italian side can sell Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic, according to the Evening Standard.

West Ham are not giving up on their pursuit of Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus after they had two bids turned down from the club, the Telegraph says.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Cameron Archer: Sheffield United are close to locking in an £18.5million deal for the 21-year-old Aston Villa striker, according to the Guardian.

Youssef En-Nesyri: Sky Sports says West Ham have begun talks with Sevilla to try and strike a deal for the 26-year-old striker.

Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane announced his retirement from international football, on this day in 2016.

The striker revealed his decision to don the green jersey for a final time ahead of a friendly against Oman taking place the following week.

In a statement, the-then 36-year-old said: “I had always hoped this day would never come and I will miss putting on the Ireland jersey and walking out to a sea of green.

“But I am looking forward to the game against Oman and putting on the jersey and singing the national anthem one last time in front of the home crowd at the Aviva.

“It will be an emotional night for me, but I will savour each and every last moment.

“While this is the end of my international career, I hope to continue to play for some years yet. I love my time playing with LA Galaxy and intend to focus my energies on continuing my club football for a few more seasons.”

Keane made his 146th and final international appearance, where he scored a volley as Ireland beat Oman 4-0.

His goal brought to an end an 18-year career with his country and took him level with German great Gerd Muller on 68 international goals.

Having played for clubs including Tottenham, Liverpool and LA Galaxy, Keane then retired from football in 2018.

Lee Johnson claims his Hibernian side were up against an Aston Villa side with “almost superhuman” qualities in their 5-0 Europa Conference League thrashing at Easter Road.

It was the Midlands club’s first European tie in 13 years and the first leg of their qualifying play-off tie was won by the interval thanks to three headers, two by England international Ollie Watkins and one from Jamaica’s Leon Bailey.

Watkins grabbed his hat-trick three minutes after the restart with and Douglas Luiz adding a fifth from the spot in the 74th minute to make next week’s second leg at Villa Park all but academic.

It was Johnson’s 500th competitive game in management and he tried to put the defeat into context as he turned his attention to the visit of Livingston in the Premiership on Saturday.

He said: “I think we have a really good, honest bunch of players. I trust them and they give their all every day.

“There is a difference. Premier League players now are almost superhuman in their athleticism. It’s the super-elite from all over the world and that’s what you get.

“It was a good experience, and I don’t think it will affect confidence going into the Livingston game.

“But the physical recovery is really key for us because we are a team that needs to use our running power and our physicality at our level to maximise our performances.

“I’m still proud of the club for being at this level on this stage. The reality is we have an English League One budget against a fantastic multi-international standard Aston Villa.

“It was clear there was a gulf in class, I can’t deny that.

“At half-time we wanted to salvage some pride and look like we were going to go and win the half. We started it pretty well and got behind them, but that’s the difference – one break, one poor positional error, one quality pass and a great finish.

“Having played against Premier League teams in the past, you cannot make positional errors because they’re punished.

“So I hope this experience is a good one, because your lessons can become your teacher. We can grow from having felt the quality of the athleticism, the touch and the tactical work that Villa did tonight.”

Villa boss Unai Emery was pleased with the way his side approached their biggest away win in Europe.

He said: “If we weren’t competitive and serious we could have had problems.

“We spoke before the match about how we had to respect the opponents and be focused and consistent in our game plan.

“We knew if we weren’t we could have lost. We were focused and disciplined and consistent for 90 minutes. That is the mentality I want to create here.”

Emery revealed he replaced goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez with Robin Olsen for the start of the second half because the World Cup winner “had a small pain and we didn’t want to take a risk with him”.

Former Hibs favourite John McGinn captained Villa and was a powerhouse in midfield to the delight of his boss.

“He is amazing,” said Emery.

“I know you love him here more than me, but I think he is amazing.

“He always wants, from the first minute to the 90th minute, to run and to be competitive.

“I am very happy with him. And not only as a player, as a person as well. His commitment is very high.

“He is always positive, always smiling. In bad moments, in good moments, he always keeps the same mentality. It is fantastic.”

World players’ union FIFPRO has called for FIFA to investigate Spanish football president Luis Rubiales after he kissed Jenni Hermoso in the aftermath of Sunday’s World Cup final.

Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), kissed the forward on the lips during the medal ceremony following the team’s 1-0 win against England in Sydney.

FIFPRO’s call for action followed a statement from the Spanish players’ union on Tuesday that condemned such behaviour as “never appropriate or acceptable”, while United States winger Megan Rapinoe described the event as a “physical assault”.

Rubiales, who has faced calls to resign, issued an apology on Monday, which Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez described as “insufficient”.

And on Wednesday, a FIFPRO statement said: “FIFPRO fully endorses the statement of Spanish player union AFE in calling for immediate action to address the conduct of Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales at the FIFA Women’s World Cup final and is requesting an investigation of his actions under FIFA’s code of ethics.

“We reiterate that it was deeply lamentable that such a special moment for the players of the Spain national team taking place before a global television audience should be stained by the inappropriate conduct of an individual in a role carrying so much responsibility.

“Uninitiated and uninvited physical approaches towards players are not appropriate or acceptable in any context, and especially when they are put in a position of vulnerability by a person who holds a position of power over them in their workplace.”

Hermoso initially said on social media she “didn’t like” the kiss but a statement on her behalf was later released by the RFEF in which she described it as “spontaneous”.

The 33-year-old released a brief statement on Wednesday, which read: “My union FUTPRO, in coordination with my agency TMJ, are taking care of defending my interests and being the interlocutors on this matter.”

Rapinoe, who featured in the World Cup for the United States, also criticised Rubiales for celebrating by grabbing his crotch.

She told American magazine the Atlantic: “There was another picture that signals such a deep level of misogyny and sexism in that federation and in that man at the final whistle, just grabbing his crotch.

“What kind of upside-down world are we in? On the biggest stage, where you should be celebrating, Jenni has to be physically assaulted by this guy.”

The women’s football union FUTPRO has also condemned Rubiales’ actions and called on the RFEF to act for the protection of female footballers’ rights.

“From FUTPRO we express our firm and resounding condemnation of conduct that violates the dignity of women,” read a statement.

“From our association we ask the Royal Spanish Football Federation to implement the necessary protocols, ensure the rights of our players and adopt exemplary measures.

“It is essential that our national team, current world champion, is always represented by figures that project values of equality and respect in all areas.”

The RFEF will hold an extraordinary meeting of its general assembly on Friday and said “internal proceedings” were open in relation to integrity issues arising from the trophy ceremony.

Ollie Watkins grabbed a hat-trick as Aston Villa effectively booked their place in the Europa Conference League with a 5-0 away win over Hibernian.

It was the Midlands club’s first European tie in 13 years and the first leg of their qualifying play-off tie was done and dusted by the interval after three headers, two by England international Watkins and one from Jamaica’s Leon Bailey.

The second half promised more pain for the stunned Premiership outfit and Watkins delivered another blow three minutes after the restart before Douglas Luiz added a fifth from the spot in the 74th minute of a one-sided contest.

It was Lee Johnson’s 500th competitive game in management and the Hibs boss will know the emphatic scoreline could have been worse.

The chasm in quality between the top-flight in Scotland and England was laid bare and it did not make for good viewing for those north of the border.

Heavy favourites or not, Unai Emery was taking the game seriously, making one change to his side which beat Everton 4-0 in the Premier League at the weekend with Matty Cash making way for Diego Carlos.

Former Hibs favourite John McGinn’s returned to Leith as Villa captain and he heard some early boos from the home fans, but they soon had more to worry about.

Johnson had the pace of Martin Boyle, Elie Youan and Dylan Vente in attack but they got little encouragement early on.

David Marshall saved a Lucas Digne header and a deflected strike from Moussa Diaby, but Hibs succumbed in the 17th minute when Digne’s cross from the left was glanced in by Watkins to the cheers of around 1,000 away fans.

Watkins should have doubled that lead three minutes later but – unmarked – he headed a McGinn cross over the bar.

Hibs came back and there was a penalty claim in the 26th minute when Boyle went to ground in the box as he tangled with Villa’s Douglas Luiz but Spanish referee Ricardo de Burgos was unimpressed.

Villa always looked dangerous when driving forward and in the 32nd minute, when Douglas Luiz swung in a corner from the left, Diego Carlos flicked on and Watkins stole in at the back post to head into the roof of the net.

Reality had set in for the home side.

McGinn played his part in Villa’s third, sending the tireless Digne down the left and when his delightful cross floated over Marshall, Bailey nodded in from almost on the line in the 42nd minute.

There was time before the break for Watkins to narrowly miss the target with an angled-drive.

Emery replaced World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez with Robin Olsen for the start of the second half and the Sweden international soon tipped a shot from Youan over the bar, but Villa survived the corner before extending their lead.

Watkins confidently slid the ball into the net from another Digne delivery after getting away from the Hibs defence. His effort was initially ruled offside only for the VAR to confirm the goal was legal.

Hibs needed to prevent further embarrassment but after defender Lewis Stevenson tripped tricky substitute Bertrand Traore in the box, Douglas Luiz knocked in the penalty.

Villa cruised the rest of the game and the demoralised home side welcomed the final whistle which to all intents and purpose signalled the end of their European hopes this season.