The soccer players have asked the federative entity for real changes within its structure and that people who during this time They have been coerced, lied to, or belittled disappear from your sight
The withered fruits must be removed from a rotten tree, and that is what the Spanish national team soccer players ask for. Are many years of unacceptable situations, of lack of respect and contempt from the majority of the leaders of the Royal Spanish Federation towards the players. Now, and after the latest events, the situation is unsustainable. For this reason, the soccer players have asked the federative entity for real changes within its structure and that people who during this time They have been coerced, lied to, or belittled disappear from your sight.
Andreu Camps, greatest exponent of ‘rubialism’
The first agreement reached during the early morning meeting between the footballers and the CSD was the dismissal of Andreu Camps, general secretary of the Federation. His figure, controversial and with few followers outside the structure of the body, was the first that the soccer players pointed out. Because of his lack of involvement, because of his refusal to provide decent working conditions and because of the continuous contempt for their status as professionals.
Camps is one of the most visible faces of the institution, since he has held the position of general secretary since he was proclaimed at the General Assembly on May 17, 2018. Furthermore, in 2020 he was re-elected. From the beginning he was Rubiales’ right-hand man and acted as the ideologue of many of the actions that have put a damper on the evolution and professionalization of women’s football. We find the last exhibition on the list of those invited to Montse Tomé, which was designed by him. Besides, He has always been tough with the footballers in negotiations and he has been the author of the unpleasant and aggressive arguments that the Federation had at the beginning of the conflict with the players. What’s more, Camps has been one of the main detractors of the creation of the F League as an independent entity from the Federation and has put all his efforts into hindering its development and growth.
There are many examples, but one that makes Camps’ position regarding women’s football very clear happened a few years ago. The players arrived at the national team and their shirts did not have their name written on the back. It cost a lot of money, he said.. It was not necessary to invest even one euro beyond what was essential in the women’s team, thought the current general secretary of the Federation.
Hermetic dome and constraints
The leadership of ‘rubialism’, however, is not limited to Andreu Camps alone. The senior leaders of the establishment have also been accomplices or witnesses of unacceptable situations in relation to the soccer players. After Luis Rubiales’ non-consensual kiss to Jenni Hermoso at the celebration of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the machinery worked at full speed and there were many internal movements to avoid the problem after what happened. The first thing was the attribution to the player of some exculpatory statements that Jenni had not uttered. She was also asked to participate in the video where Rubiales apologized. She refused, just like Ivana Andrés didcaptain of the team during the World Cup.
This was reported by herself in a statement hours later, where it was announced that some RFEF officials coerced her into publicly justifying the kiss and giving approval. The player herself, in her statement before the judge handling the case at the National Court, highlighted that she came to feel “harassed” by the president and his entourage to speak publicly about what happened in favor of Rubiales.
Rubén Rivera, Marketing Director, and Miguel García Caba, head of the Integrity Commission, are some of the names behind these actions and that is why the footballers have pointed them out.
Deep restructuring
In their statement prior to being called up, the players were crystal clear with the five points they were asking for to wear the national team shirt again. “The restructuring of the women’s football organizational chart, the restructuring of the presidential cabinet and general secretary; the resignation of the president of the RFEF, the restructuring of the communication and marketing area and the restructuring of the integrity management,” they said. Of them, only one has been fulfilled, so far. Rubiales is no longer president of the Federation and, after his meeting with Víctor Francos, president of the CSD, some of the names mentioned are beginning to glimpse the way out. After Camps, Rivera and García Cabapriorities, there are others who have also played a key role in difficult and unfair moments for footballers.
Pablo García-Cuervo, director of communication, Albert Luque, director of the Spanish team, Javier Gómez Matallanas, spokesperson for the RFEF, Francis Hernández, director of the youth teams, and Tomás González Cueto, external legal advisor, are the names that, Sooner or later, they will see their position in the Federation affected by all these events, of which they have been a part.
Finally, the name of Montse Tomé, the national coach, remains in question. And, after the two Nations League games that the team will play (this Friday against Sweden in Göteborg, and against Switzerland on Tuesday in Córdoba), meetings and movements are expected in relation to the coaching staff and the figure of the coach.