The press conference of Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes in Gothenburg is one of those that will go down in history. Clear, direct and forceful – and visibly physically and mentally exhausted by the intensity of the last few days and the lack of sleep – the two players of the FC Barcelona and the Spanish team appeared before the media, at their request, to explain on behalf of the locker room everything that has happened in the last month, since they became world champions with their subsequent crisis, and what the current situation is.
The midfielder began the intervention molletto explain “in short, because we don’t have much time and when we return to Spain we will do it more calmly so that no one has any doubt” the facts: “We had been demanding that they listen to us for quite some time, because we were detecting that during For several decades there has been systematic discrimination towards women’s football. Yesterday it was a month since we won the World Cup and some things happened inadmissible facts, also with the Assembly. It was the last straw. “We didn’t want to continue down that path.”
Zero tolerance
“We must be clear that there is an open judicial process,” he continued. Alexia“and that here there is a victim, which is Jenni [Hermoso], who has neither consented nor provoked any situation, and we colleagues are going to be by his side. Imagine what it is costing us. “We’ve been sleeping four hours for a week and we’ve had to get it into our heads that we can’t just be footballers.”
He made it clear, in a room full of journalists – both Spanish and Swedish – that the group “does not put or remove anyone, we simply denounce and ask the Federation to have zero tolerance, for Jenny, for us and so as not to set precedents, with anyone who participates in abuse. “They have listened to us, they are investigating and there is an open judicial process.”
The agreement
Alexia explained that the meeting in Oliva It was divided into two parts. The first, “for Jenni’s case, where we made it clear that the protocols and the Federation failed, because at no time until now has it taken a position in favor of the victim, and we agreed on some changes and the creation of a mixed Commission to guarantee its execution. We ask for a much more transparent Federation.”
And on the other hand, “avoid sanctions for the players who did not want to attend the call.” “If all this has given women a guide, it will have been worth it. I believe that this meeting will mark a before and after in our sport and, why not, in society. We want dedicate ourselves only to playing football, “but we have had to get it into our heads that we can’t just be footballers.”
lonely fight
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Just Irene Paredes, captain until the first conflict of ‘Las 15’ broke out, explaining that they were forced to come to the rally: “We didn’t want to come, they forced us and we ended up agreeing to go, angry, to have meetings. We didn’t stay because we were comfortable, but because we believe which is what we had to do for the agreements to go ahead.” Alexia, here, added that “if we had not been there, they would have called the U-23 team, and this was irresponsible on our part.”
And Paredes stated: “We know that things take time, but we take them at their word. We know that some changes are already taking place. We have felt alone, without support. Now the CSD has entered forcefully and it is appreciated, but We also let them know that they were late. We are tired and the truth is that at the moment we do not see light at the end of the tunnel. But it’s a beginning and there’s a lot left to do. Now we have a speaker to be able to do it, there are many women who are suffering Similar cases. “We want this to be a turning point and eradicate these situations.”