Hermoso contradicts Rubiales
Spain’s national team unites to boycott Rubiales
08/25/2023 9:09 p.m
They have only just become world champions and are now on strike: the Spanish soccer players refuse to play again should the top management remain in office. The pressure on President Rubiales and Co. is immense. Jennifer Hermoso also clarifies that the kiss was not consensual at all.
Spain’s soccer world champions are taking to the barricades against the national association RFEF and its controversial president Luis Rubiales: The 23 players who won the World Cup final in Sydney last Sunday no longer want to play for their country under the current leadership of the association.
“After everything that happened at the Women’s World Cup medal ceremony, all players who have signed this text will not honor a next call-up if the current lead is maintained,” the world champions wrote in a statement issued by the players’ union Futpro was distributed. They put themselves together behind Jennifer Hermoso. In total, 81 current and former Spanish players signed the letter.
Attacking player Hermoso also vigorously contradicted the association’s statement that the kiss with Rubiales at the award ceremony was consensual. The RFEF had spread this a few hours after the final – and quoted the 33-year-old verbosely.
On Friday, her quotes read completely differently. “I want to be very clear that at no point did I agree to the kiss he (Rubiales; ed.) gave me, nor did I try to approach the President,” Hermoso explained via Futpro: “I will not allow my word to be questioned, much less invent something I did not say.”
Rubiales apologized the day after the final, but declined to take any further action. At an extraordinary general assembly of the RFEF, the 46-year-old refused to step down from the presidency, despite global outrage. On the contrary, he sees a “social execution” against himself and sees himself as a victim of a campaign.
The highest Spanish sports authority CSD now wants to apply to the Tad Sports Court for the suspension of the football association boss. The authority will initiate this this Friday, said CSD boss Víctor Francos at a press conference in Tarragona in north-eastern Spain. “Today we will file a complaint with the Tad so that they can assess whether there has been serious misconduct,” Francos said. He asked the Sports Court to meet on Monday. The world association FIFA also initiated disciplinary proceedings against the 46-year-old on Thursday.