Last Sunday, Spain won its first ever Women’s World Cup, beating England 1-0 in the final.
It’s a fine Spanish achievement, but attention is focused on another event.
It’s a gesture that had been raised as dubious in the first place, and became even more dubious when the player, Jenni Hermoso, officially declared that she didn’t consent.
“I felt vulnerable and a victim of aggression, of an impulsive and sexist act, out of place and without any consent on my part.” – Jenni Hermoso
Official Announcement. August 25th,2023. pic.twitter.com/lQb18IGsk2
– Jenn1 Hermos0 (@Jennihermoso) August 25, 2023
It’s a huge public debate, with the majority of people wanting to see Luis Rubiales punished for this inappropriate and disrespectful gesture.
FIFA suspends Luis Rubialeshttps://t.co/qrZnlLAOHf
– Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) August 26, 2023
This follows yesterday’s announcement by the 23 players of the Spanish national team that they refuse to play official matches under the current management of the federation.
As for the Spanish federation, well, it’s staunchly defending its president, claiming that Jenni Hermoso’s accusations are lies.
Forced kiss | Spanish soccer federation defends its president https://t.co/o4jg8ycMoV
– La Presse Sports (@LaPresse_Sports) August 26, 2023
“The RFEF and the president [Luis Rubiales] will prove every lie published by anyone on behalf of the player or, if that is the case, by the player herself.” – RFEF press release
According to the RFEF, “the president’s feet are ostensibly lifted from the ground by the player’s action” which precedes the kiss.
The RFEF also added that “participation in the selection is an obligation for all persons [members of the federation] if they are called by it”, thus explaining that players cannot decide to miss official matches.
In short, there’s a big conflict going on in the public arena at the moment, as the world generally rallies behind Jenni Hermoso, and Spanish soccer management defends its president.
It’s a story we’ll be keeping a close eye on over the next few days.
To find out more about this whole situation/story, I recommend you read the article in La Presse Sports, which I’ll relay to you right here.
En Rafale
– Stay tuned.
There’s One Certainty About Sidney Crosby’s Next Contract https://t.co/p1DvtepI8i
– Dave Molinari (@MolinariPGH) August 25, 2023
– Indeed.
Complaining about the Mesar pick and completely ignoring the fact that Beck, Engstrom and Hutson look like home run picks is akin to whining about a team’s one loss in a 3-1 playoff series win.
– Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) August 26, 2023
– Holge Rune, seeded 4th at the US Open, subtly lets tournament organizers know that he thinks it’s pretty ordinary that he’s playing his first match of the tournament on court 5 as the 4th best player in the world.
World No. 4 tweaks US Open for the court they put him on for his first match ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ https://t.co/jSIEDeL0y0
– Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 26, 2023
– A fine comeback for Mookie Betts.
The 2018 season MVP still holds a special place in the hearts of Red Sox fans. https://t.co/vwenhJQ7S0
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) August 26, 2023
– Bad news for Liverpool.
I’ve never seen a transfer window mismanaged by #LFC like this one. They needed a dependable third option b/c Konate, who’s asked to cover like 3/4’s of the defensive end, is frequently hurt. It didn’t even take three weeks for the problem to surface again. https://t.co/14J9CeVEhC
– Tom Reed (@treed1919) August 26, 2023