Spain’s footballers are calling for the national team not to play again until Luis Rubiales is no longer president of the association.
Spanish footballer have expressed their solidarity with Jennifer Hermoso (33). What’s more, the letter calls for refusing to be called up to the Spanish national team until Spain’s president, Luis Rubiales (46), is ousted.
Rubiales caused a real scandal when he kissed Hermoso on the mouth at the awards ceremony after winning the World Cup. Women’s rights activists reacted outraged, spoke of “sexual violence” and demanded severe consequences. Even the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (51) criticized: “What we saw is unacceptable.”
Numerous women footballers have already signed the call for a national team strike – including the entire 23-strong squad that won the world championship against England on August 20th. Over 50 other people have also agreed to stay away from the national team until Rubiales faces real consequences.
Jennifer Hermoso posts emotional statement
The affected player Jennifer Hermoso is enthroned as the first name on the long list of signatories. Separately from the call, she no longer wanted to play for the Spanish national team for the time being.
In it, she reiterates the accusation that “the words of Mr. Luis Rubiales to explain the unspeakable incident are categorically wrong”. She wanted to make it clear that “his kiss was never consensual”. That’s exactly what Rubiales had claimed after the media uproar.
FIFA has already initiated disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales. At the same time, it became known that it was by no means the first misconduct by the Spanish federation president: The Spanish newspaper “El Confidencial” reports that Rubiales asked an employee about the color of her underwear and told her to wear “knee pads” if they work together. He is also said to have taken a woman from Mexico on a trip to New York at the expense of the association.
Source: Stern
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