Members of the Spanish Football Association are said to be gearing up to sue 39 women national team players for slander amid kissing scandal.

All 39 players, according to reports, refused to rejoin the squad following the scandal involving former Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales.

Rubiales sparked a massive outrage online for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso.

The Women’s World Cup winning squad has since signed a statement declaring that they will not return unless the RFEF made some changes.

The statement reads, “To date, as we have conveyed to the RFEF, the changes that have taken place are not enough for the players to feel that they are in a safe place, where women are respected, where there is support for women’s football and where we can give our maximum performance.

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“We would like to end this statement by saying that the players of the Spanish national team are professional players, and what fills us most with pride is to wear the shirt of our national team and always take our country to the highest positions.

“Therefore, we believe that it is time to fight to show that these situations and practices have no place in our football or our society, that the current structure needs to change, and we do it so that the next generations can have a much more egalitarian football and at the height of what we all deserve.”

El Espanol reports Monday that members of RFEF are ready to sue the players “for coercion and slander.”

The players are expected to play in the Nations League Campaign against Sweden on Friday.