Jenni Hermoso has not been called up to join the Spanish women’s national football team’s roster for the upcoming matches against Sweden and Switzerland. However, the 20 players who planned to boycott the team until major changes in the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) were.
When explaining why Spain’s all-time leading goalscorer was not included, new coach Montse Tomé called it “the best way to protect her”, per USA Today.
“The first thing to say is that we are with Jenni in everything,” said Tomé. “We believed the best way to protect her in this call was like this.”
“Protect me from what?” Hermoso started ua statement she shared on Monday in Spanish and English on social networks.
“Let’s be clear: a claim was made today that the environment within the federation would be safe for my colleagues to rejoin, but at the same press conference it was announced that they were not calling me to protect me,” Hermoso wrote, meaning on player safety.
After her team’s World Cup victory over England, then-RFEF chief Luis Rubiales was seen kissing several players on the face, including Hermosa, during their celebrations.
“Protect me from what? And from whom? For weeks, even months, we’ve been asking for protection from the RFEF that never came,” the 33-year-old striker continued. “The people who are now asking us to believe them are the same people who today released the list of players who requested NOT to be called up.”
Tomé said she decided not to invite Hermosa “to protect her” after the controversy over Rubiales’ non-consensual kiss after the World Cup final. Afterward, Rubiales doubled down on his defense of his actions during the extraordinary assembly, claiming he had fallen victim to “social murder” and “fake feminism” while speaking about the incident, according to The New York Times.In her statement, Hermoso claimed that her teammates believed that not inviting them all to practice was a way to “intimidate” them.
“The players are convinced that this is another strategy of division and manipulation to intimidate us and threaten us with legal consequences and economic sanctions,” she wrote, adding: “This is yet another irrefutable piece of evidence showing that nothing has changed today.”
Hermosa ended her statement by offering her full support to her colleagues who were “forced to respond to another unfortunate situation caused by the people who continue to make decisions within the RFEF.”
On August 20 during the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia, Rubiales kissed Hermoso against her will during their victory celebration.
Richard Callis / SPP/Sipa USA via AP
Canadian midfielder Quinn becomes the first transgender athlete to play at the FIFA World Cup
Before Tomé’s announcement of the Spanish squad list, the RFEF said in a statement that it was committed to the changes.
“We guarantee a safe environment for female players and we stand for a climate of mutual trust so that we can work together and ensure that women’s football continues to progress much stronger,” the federation said.
Days after the World Cup win, FIFA suspended Rubiales for 90 days for the kiss, which Hermosa said was uncalled for. Rubiales says the kiss was “consensual.”
In a statement, FIFA said the ban would prevent him from “any activity related to football at national and international level” and he was also told to “refrain, through himself or third parties, from contacting or attempting to contact a professional player of the Spanish national football team Ms. Jennifer Hermoso or her immediate environment.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After Rubiales’ public defense of her actions, Hermoso issued her own statement in August. “I was simply disrespected,” she wrote. “I felt vulnerable and the victim of an impulsive, sexist, inappropriate act without any consent on my part.”
Spain’s Queen Letizia will attend the World Cup final in Australia — but Prince William has no plans to go
On September 5, the RFEF issued an apology to the “football world” and announced the dismissal of head coach Jorge Vilda, who led the World Cup-winning team. Vilda reportedly applauded Rubiales’ remarks at the extraordinary assembly, per USA Today.
On September 10, Rubiales, 46, shared a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, announcing that he has officially resigned as president of the federation.
“I have faith in the truth and will do everything in my power to make it prevail,” he wrote in the bold part of the statement.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education