What will become of the demands?
Spain nominates boycotting world champions
September 18, 2023, 8:03 p.m
A few days ago it was said that Spain’s female footballers were dissatisfied with the changes in the national association. Now the new national coach is presenting her first squad. There are numerous players who are actually on strike. It remains to be seen whether they will actually occur.
Spain’s new national soccer coach Montse Tome has named 15 world champions in the squad for the upcoming Nations League – even though they almost all want to boycott the upcoming international matches. However, Jenni Hermoso, who is particularly in focus, is missing – supposedly for her own protection. Tome, successor to the dismissed Jorge Vilda, announced this at a press conference. However, it remained unclear whether the nominated players had given their consent. A total of 81 top Spanish players went on strike in the wake of the kissing scandal.
The appointed world champions include the two-time world footballer Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmati and Olga Carmona, but not Hermoso. The 33-year-old was kissed on the mouth by the Spanish association president Luis Rubiales, who has since resigned, without her consent at the award ceremony after the World Cup final in Sydney. The incident sparked a wave of international outrage.
“I spoke to them,” Tome replies when asked whether she sought dialogue with the players concerned before the nomination. But this remains “between us,” explained Tome. Regarding Hermoso’s personality, she said: “We thought it was the best way to protect her.”
The association is said to have threatened penalties
Spain will face Sweden in the Nations League on Friday and Switzerland on Tuesday next week. The Nations League is about the two European starting places for the 2024 Summer Olympics, and world champion Spain also has to qualify.
Just on Friday, 21 of the 23 world champions signed an open letter to the RFEF association, saying that the changes made so far were “not enough” to “feel safe and respected.” They said they would not end their boycott without further changes, also calling for the removal of RFEF interim president Pedro Rocha and other officials close to Rubiales. As far as is known, this requirement had not been met as of Monday.
According to media reports, the association had offered the striking players personnel changes in the organization the day before, but at the same time also gave them an ultimatum that expired at midnight. The RFEF threatened fines and multi-year bans for those players who refused to play for “La Roja”. There has not yet been any official confirmation of this information.
Rubiales resigned just over a week ago under great pressure. On Friday he was sentenced to stay away from Hermoso in the future. An examining judge decided that the 46-year-old was only allowed to approach the national soccer player within 200 meters. The former association president had to answer in court because of allegations of sexual violence.