Spain’s footballers deservedly won the World Cup. The circumstances are amazing. The party was exuberant, but also marred by incidents – in focus: an unwanted kiss.
In the hour of triumph, the celebrating world champions from Spain were unfortunately also confronted with an abusive man: Luis Rubiales, head of the Spanish football association, hugged all “his” players and then he kissed Jenni Hermoso. First on the cheek, then on the mouth – this is how it was seen on videos on social networks.
“I didn’t like it,” said the 33-year-old offensive player later when asked about the scene in an Instagram live video. In the video, Hermoso is later asked by another woman why she didn’t do anything about it. Hermoso then replied, “What should I have done?”
Kiss of the head of the association – “form of sexual violence”
The reactions in Hermoso’s homeland were harsh: one should not assume that kissing without consent is something that just happens, wrote Spain’s Minister for Equality Irene Montero on X, formerly Twitter. “It’s a form of sexual violence that we women suffer every day and that has been invisible up to now and that we are not allowed to normalize,” explained the 35-year-old politician.
Hermoso later rejected the criticism of the president – obviously because of the outraged reactions: “It was a very spontaneous mutual gesture because of the great joy of winning a World Cup,” she said. Hermoso’s statement was sent to some media by the Spanish federation RFEF late Sunday evening and was published by the Europa Press news agency, among others.
winning goalscorer mourns for the father
Sexism in women’s football is apparently always and everywhere an issue, it also casts a shadow over the Spanish celebrations. It wasn’t the only fly in the ointment. Shortly after her team’s victory at the Australia Women’s World Cup, winning goalscorer Olga Carmona learned of her father’s death. Spain’s football association condoled the player and her family.
It was Hermoso who hugged Carmona tightly. In fact, Jenni Hermoso had every reason to be overjoyed. She, the 33-year-old, led the Spanish team to the title as a playmaker and was the head of the team. She is one of the few who does not play for one of the big Spanish clubs.
Nine players from the final starting team play for FC Barcelona on a day-to-day basis at the club – Hermoso left her country for Mexico last year. “It’s a new experience for me and has brought me so much as a person,” she says of her emigration abroad.
Emigrant Hermoso as leader
“She’s still good to fetch the drinks” and “she won’t be able to keep up physically” – Hermoso, who was there for Spain’s first World Cup appearance in 2015, had to listen to such sayings. In Australia and New Zealand, national coach Jorge Vilda made her boss on the pitch. Unlike Alexia Putellas, for example. The world footballer mainly had to sit on the substitutes’ bench at the behest of the coach.
Vilda and his decisions – He has achieved what hardly anyone believed him capable of: leading a team that was largely hostile to him just a few months ago to triumph.
Not undisputed: Jorge Vilda
strike against the coach
15 national players went on strike last fall to protest against the 42-year-old coach, who has been in charge of the senior national team since 2015. Relatively unsuccessful considering how many titles the Spanish junior teams alone have won in that period. The accusations leveled at him ranged from inhuman surveillance methods to tactical incompetence and incomprehensible personnel decisions.
Now Vilda is world champion. And on the pitch, his players threw him up in triumph. A scenario in which many viewers may have rubbed their eyes. Certainly also head of the association Rubiales. It would have been nice if he had left it at that.