When Spain won the FIFA World Cup on Sunday in a 1-0 victory over England, the celebrations were soured by a brazen act by Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales.
During the medals ceremony, Rubiales forcefully grabbed and kissed forward Jennifer Hermoso. Hermoso could be heard saying, “Hey, but I didn’t like that!” in response.
On Wednesday, following an apology by Rubiales (“Probably I made a mistake,” he said) Hermoso put out her own statement.
“My union Futpro, in co-ordination with my agency TMJ, are taking care of defending my interests and being the interlocutors on this matter,” she said.
The union added that, “We are working to ensure that acts such as those we have seen never go unpunished, that they are sanctioned and that the exemplary measures are adopted to protect women footballers from actions that we believe are unacceptable.”
Even the Spanish prime minister decried Rubiales’ apology as lackluster, while the country’s second deputy prime minister called for Rubiales to resign.
The viral video of the unwanted kiss also brought into stark relief the myriad problems plaguing Spanish soccer.
Ignacio Quereda was only fired in 2015, following decades of verbally and emotionally abusive tactics targeting the players he managed, after the national team released an open letter calling for him to be fired.
Last September, 15 players – including Aitana Bonmati, Mariona Caldentey and Leila Ouahabi – sent an email “withdrawing themselves from consideration for the national team.”
Their coach, Jorge Vilda – who was seen apparently groping a female staffer following the team’s world cup win – was assumed to be a major reason for these star players’ refusal to play.
Although Vilda was obviously not removed, a few of the players who signed the email nonetheless ended up playing in Australia and New Zealand this summer.
The mistreatment of the women of the Spanish national team may be the most visible scandal at the moment, but it is hardly exclusive to them.
Be it the dozens of victims of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar or the blatant failure by the entire Chicago Blackhawks organization of Kyle Beach, machismo culture can be present across any sport at any level, resulting not only in misogyny and sexual violence, but an expectation of silence.
Rubiales revealed, when he engaged in an act of sexual violence on a global stage, that an aversion to consequences for abuse in sports persists. The viral outrage for his actions, and that by Hermoso herself, could well be the spark to change that, at least in this case.
If Rubiales and even Vilda are not fired nor asked to resign, it will certainly send a message that harassment of women athletes, no matter how public, is tacitly endorsed.
Stay tuned for more sports content, including off-season moves and prospect updates.
Featured content courtesy of Richard Callis – Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
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