Spain's federation wastes no time giving its WOMEN players the middle finger after World Cup win

Nancy Armour, USA TODAY
Updated Sun, August 20, 2023 at 7:20 p.m. MDT

It is never enough for women to simply win.

They get maybe two seconds to revel in their accomplishment and celebrate themselves before they have to dig back in, because the inequities and the sexism and the misogyny and all the other awfulness that existed before their beautiful moment remain. And lord knows the people in power, the ones who should be righting their own wrongs, won’t do so without a fight.

Not that Spain needed a reminder of this – "I want to remember all the women that have been pushing and fighting over the years for (us) to have better conditions. This is for them and from them," Golden Ball winner Aitana Bonmati said – but its federation provided one nonetheless. The players were still on the field playing in the confetti after winning their first World Cup title when the federation’s social account posted a photo of coach Jorge Vilda with the caption, "Vilda In."

That’s the same Jorge Vilda who created a training environment so intolerable that 15 of Spain’s top players said last year they wouldn’t play for the national team until conditions improved. The same Jorge Vilda who used his World Cup roster to exact petty revenge, taking only three of the 15 to the tournament in Australia and New Zealand despite several more saying they wished to return.

The federation included an emoji of an index finger raised in the No. 1 sign. But a middle finger would have been more appropriate because that’s essentially what the federation was giving its players.

Team Spain celebrates after beating England in the final an dwinning the 2023 World Cup in Sydney, Australia.

And it got worse! As the players received their champions medal, Spain federation president Luis Rubiales grabbed Jenni Hermoso, the team's all-time leading scorer, and kissed her on the lips without her permission. And without her interest.

"Yeah, I did not enjoy that," Hermoso told broadcasters afterward.

There are coaches, like Jill Ellis or German men’s coach Joachim Löw, whose fingerprints can be seen all over the championship trophy. Vilda is not one of those coaches. It is Spain’s exceptional players who are responsible for the World Cup title. Their skills were honed with their clubs – Barcelona, primarily – ­not with the national team.

His players are so talented all Vilda had to do was hand in a lineup and stay out of their way.

And he could barely manage that.

"We’ve suffered a lot over last 12 months," captain Olga Carmona, who gave Spain the only goal it needed in the 29th minute, said afterward. "But I think everything has a reason, and it’s made us a stronger team."

Now Spain will have to be strong again.

CARMONA: Spain's goal scorer learns after World Cup final her father died

Winning the World Cup gives the players leverage with the federation and they need to use it to exact the changes they want. The changes they need. Whether that means Vilda isn’t the coach going forward – his refusal to commit when asked multiple times if he plans to stay on was notable – or Rubiales is chastened or the federation provides more funding and resources, the players will never be in a better position to force changes than they are now.

The U.S. women are the model for this. They used the blockbuster success of their 1999 World Cup win to earn a new contract that gave them guaranteed paychecks. Their 2015 and 2019 titles laid the foundation for their landmark contract that assures them equal pay to the U.S. men, including an equal split of World Cup prize money.

Public opinion obviously helped the USWNT’s cause. The players were serenaded with chants of "Equal pay! Equal pay!" during the victory ceremony at the 2019 World Cup and again at their victory parade in New York City. When U.S. Soccer disparaged the players the following year in a court filing in the equal pay lawsuit, sponsors balked.

Ultimately, the federation realized this battle was costing far more than equality would. The same can happen in Spain.

Despite the discrimination and condescension that’s been baked in toward women’s soccer for decades in Spain, the sport has become exponentially popular.

Barcelona drew more than 91,000 people for games twice in 2022, and some 8,000 fans traveled to see this year’s Champions League final in the Netherlands. Four years ago, Atletico Madrid set what was then an attendance record with 60,739 fans. That broke a record set a few months earlier by the Athletic Club in Bilbao, Spain.

There were watch parties for Sunday’s final in more than 100 cities in Spain, and the ones in Madrid and Barcelona appeared to be packed.

If Spain fans believe the players are being treated unfairly, that will only put more pressure on the federation. Change might not happen overnight, but it will happen.

It’s not fair to ask Spain's players to continue fighting for equality when all they should be doing is celebrating. It’s infuriating that the players' greatest accomplishment has to be forever linked to their second-class treatment. But that’s how it is for women athletes.

A win on the field isn't the end of the fight. It has to be the beginning, or things will never change.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spain players must use women's World Cup win to force needed changes

Angry reaction after Spanish soccer leader kissed a Women’s World Cup star on the mouth

The Canadian Press
Mon, August 21, 2023



MADRID (AP) — The leader of Spain’s soccer federation left a sour taste on the country’s Women’s World Cup victory after kissing a player on the lips during the medal ceremony, drawing criticism for inappropriate conduct in a sport that has struggled to overcome sexism.

The Spanish government and the world players’ union condemned the behavior of Luis Rubiales on Monday, a day after Spain’s 1-0 win over England. The soccer federation led by Rubiales sought to downplay the incident through a statement it attributed to the player he kissed.

Immediately after Spain's victory, Rubiales grabbed his crotch in a victory gesture — seemingly oblivious to 16-year-old Princess Infanta Sofía standing nearby. He later kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the medal and trophy ceremony on the field, drawing unwanted attention away from the celebration and marring the country's biggest day for women’s soccer.

The kiss was shocking given the sport’s long-standing allegations of sexual misconduct by male soccer presidents and coaches against female players on national teams. Two of the 32 World Cup teams, Haiti and Zambia, had to deal with the issue while qualifying for the tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Spain’s acting minister for sports and culture Miquel Iceta told public broadcaster RNE “it is unacceptable to kiss a player on the lips to congratulate her.” The world players' union called the kiss “deeply lamentable.”

On Sunday, Spain's government equality minister had an even stronger reaction.

“It is a form of sexual violence that women suffer on a daily basis, and which has been invisible so far, and which we should not normalize,” Irene Montero said wrote Sunday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The Spanish soccer federation released a statement late Sunday, attributed to Hermoso, to try to settle the controversy.

“It was a totally spontaneous mutual gesture due to the immense joy of winning a World Cup,” Hermoso said in the federation’s statement. “The president and I have a great relationship, his behavior with all of us has been excellent and it was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.”

Rubiales, 45, led the world players’ union’s Spanish affiliate for eight years before being elected to lead the national soccer federation in 2018. The Spanish squad was in near-mutiny last year because of some players’ complaints about the culture under coach Jorge Vilda.

After the game, when Hermoso passed along the line of soccer dignitaries to collect her medal, Rubiales put his hands to her head and kissed her on the lips. He also hugged several other players and put his arm around Queen Letizia of Spain.

In an Instagram video in the dressing room after the incident, the players screamed and laughed while watching the kiss being replayed on a phone.

Hermoso can be seen laughing and shouting, “But I didn’t like it!” Asked by other players what she was doing, she shouted, “Look at me, look at me,” intimating she couldn’t do much about it.

FIFPRO, the Netherlands-based players' union, took a harsh view of Rubiales' actions.

“It is deeply lamentable that such a special moment for the players of the Spain national team that was taking place before a global television audience should be stained by the inappropriate conduct of an individual in a role carrying so much responsibility,” the union said in a statement.

“Uninitiated and uninvited physical gestures towards players are not appropriate or acceptable in any context. This is especially true when players are put in a position of vulnerability because a physical approach or gesture is initiated by a person who holds power over them.”

Rubiales also is a UEFA vice president and was the European soccer body's most senior elected representative at the final in Australia.

Video clips filmed after the final whistle of Sunday's match show Rubiales celebrating the victory in the front row of an exclusive section near the queen of Spain and FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Rubiales jumped with both arms in the air, pointing with both index fingers toward the field, then briefly grabbed his crotch with his right hand.

The former player has a key role in wooing soccer officials over the next year while trying to secure hosting rights for the men’s World Cup in 2030. Spain leads a joint bid with Portugal, Morocco and, currently, Ukraine for the 48-team tournament and is favored to win next year's decision.

UEFA and FIFA did not immediately respond Monday to requests for comment about Rubiales’s conduct.

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Dunbar reported from Geneva.

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Associated Press reporter Ciaran Giles contributed to this report.

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AP Women's World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup

David Brunat And Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press

Spain soccer president Luis Rubiales apologizes for kissing player, as calls for his resignation mount


Henry Bushnell
·Senior soccer reporter
Mon, August 21, 2023 

Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales said in a Monday video that he "made a mistake" when he kissed Jenni Hermoso. (Photo by Maja Hitij/FIFA via Getty Images)

Luis Rubiales, the Spanish soccer federation president whose antics tarnished Spain's Women's World Cup title Sunday, publicly apologized Monday for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso during a postgame ceremony.

Rubiales forcibly kissed Hermoso on the lips during an enthusiastic embrace shortly after Hermoso received her winners medal on an on-field podium. The moment was captured by live TV broadcasts and triggered an international outcry.

"It seems unacceptable to me," Spain's minister for culture and sport, Miquel Iceta, said in a TV interview. "We're in a moment of equality, of rights and respect for women. We all have to be particularly careful in our attitudes and our actions. I think it's unacceptable to kiss a player on the lips to congratulate her."


Others pointed out that the federation's policy on sexual violence stipulates that "forced kisses" are considered "unacceptable conduct with immediate consequences." Fans, media members and a wide array of soccer figures called for his resignation or removal.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation has not yet announced any punishment. On Monday, it released a video to various media outlets that included Rubiales' apology.

"I made a mistake, for sure," Rubiales said in Spanish. "I have to accept it. In a moment of such emotion, without any bad intention or bad faith, what happened, happened, in a very spontaneous way, with no bad faith from either side.

"We saw it as something natural and normal," he continued in the video — which was not posted on federation's social media channels. "But on the outside it has caused commotion, because people have felt hurt by it, so I have to apologize; there's no alternative. I have to learn from this and understand that a president of an institution as important as the federation — above all in ceremonies and that kind of thing — should be more careful."

In the more immediate aftermath of the kiss, Rubiales had dismissed his critics as "idiots everywhere." He'd said on Spanish radio: "When two people have a minor show of affection, we can't heed idiocy."

He addressed that comment in his Monday video as well.

"There are also some declarations I made where, within this context, I said [the outcry] seemed like idiocy — because on the inside, nobody considered it important," he said. "But on the outside they had. So, I want to apologize to those people.

"I'm also saddened, because this is the biggest success in our history in women's football, the second World Cup that we've won, and this has affected the celebration."

He did not address his postgame locker-room declaration that he would marry Hermoso; nor his celebration shortly after the final whistle, which included grabbing his crotch; nor the battle with women's national team players that he publicized and inflamed last September.

FIFA has not yet commented on Rubiales' actions or any consequences.