The kissing scandal involving the association president Luis Rubiales, who has since resigned, has finally plunged Spanish women’s football into chaos after the recent World Cup title. After being nominated for the first two games of the UEFA Nations League, the national players led by world footballer Alexia Putellas surprisingly announced that they would continue their international strike.
The grotesque thing about it: A few hours earlier, the new national coach Montse Tomé had assured journalists in Madrid that she had spoken to the footballers she had nominated and that none of them were allowed to take part in the matches on Friday in Sweden and on the following Tuesday at home against Switzerland refused.
Rubiales kissed player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth without being asked at the award ceremony after Spain’s final triumph over England on August 20th in Sydney, sparking huge outrage around the world. The world association FIFA suspended the 46-year-old for 90 days and launched an investigation. After much resistance, the official recently resigned from his position as RFEF chief. The Spanish justice system opened an investigation.
But that wasn’t enough for the footballers. 21 members of the world champion squad and 18 other top players called, among other things, for the removal of RFEF interim boss Pedro Rocha and other officials close to Rubiales. To emphasize their demands, they announced an international strike.
After the nomination of 15 world champions and Tomé’s words, it was assumed in Spain that the strike had been called off. However, the communiqué published shortly before midnight by Aitana Bonmatí, who was named the best World Cup player, on ) remains fully valid.” Hermoso had not been appointed by Tomé. When asked why the 33-year-old was not nominated, the coach, who replaced Jorge Vilda, who was fired after the World Cup in the wake of the scandal, said that they wanted to “protect” Hermoso.
The association threatened fines and bans lasting several years
According to media reports, the association only offered the striking players personnel changes in the organization on Sunday, but at the same time also gave them an ultimatum that expired at midnight on the night of Sunday to Monday. Accordingly, the RFEF threatened fines and multi-year bans for those players who refused to play for “La Roja”. There was currently no official confirmation of this information.
On Monday, the RFEF issued a communiqué on the occasion of the squad nomination and emphasized: “We guarantee the players a safe environment and are committed to a climate of mutual trust in order to work together to ensure that women’s football develops even stronger in the future .”
To this day, Rubiales maintains that the kiss immediately after the World Cup victory was mutually agreed upon. But Hermoso said she felt “like the victim of an impulsive, sexist and inappropriate act to which I did not consent.” The player filed a complaint, thereby enabling the public prosecutor’s office to file a criminal complaint with the State Court. The investigating judge must now decide whether Rubiales should be put in the dock. He faces a prison sentence of up to four years.