Rubiales scandal still ongoing
World champion Spain wins big and continues to fight
September 27, 2023, 8:21 a.m
The scandal surrounding Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Association, continues. It has far-reaching consequences. The national players are also sending a strong message in the international match on Tuesday evening. Nothing is forgotten, nothing is forgiven.
In the Nations League, the Spanish national players once again expressed their solidarity with their teammate Jennifer Hermoso after the Rubiales scandal with strong messages. Before the 5-0 win against Switzerland on Tuesday evening, the players of both nations posed behind a large banner with the inscription. “Se Acabó – Our fight is the global fight” – something like: “It’s over – our fight is the fight of everyone”. The Spanish players also wore the “Se Acabó” message on their wrists.
Hermoso was kissed on the mouth by the now resigned Spanish association boss Luis Rubiales at the award ceremony after Spain won the World Cup final in Sydney on August 20th. Hermoso later explained that she “felt like the victim of an impulsive, sexist and inappropriate act to which I did not consent.” Rubiales said it was done by mutual consent. An investigation is now underway against him.
First Sweden and now Switzerland: the message remains
The scandal, sometimes trivialized as the so-called “kissing scandal”, had a number of consequences in Spain, including World Cup coach Jorge Vilda vacating his post. Successor Montse Tomé stated that she would forgo Hermoso for the Nations League games for her own protection.
At the Córdoba stadium, the spectators also expressed their solidarity with the players who had wanted to go on strike in the meantime in the dispute with the association. 14,194 fans watched – more than ever in Spain at an international women’s team match. During their first appearance after the World Cup, the Spaniards presented the poster with the “Se Acabó” message together with their opponents in Sweden last week.