The England coach, Sarina Wiegman, dedicated her UEFA Women’s Coach of the Year award to the Spain team, to whom she lost the World Cup final on August 20, but whose success has been overshadowed by a scandal occurred off the field of play.
And it is that during the award ceremony of that tournament, the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubialeskiss on the mouth to the forward Jenni Hermoso, who has said that it was an act without consent, for which Rubiales has fallen a barrage of criticism.
Wiegman stated that the victorious Spanish players “deserve to be heard”.
Rubiales was suspended on Saturday by world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, but has repeatedly refused to resign.
At the ceremony on Thursday, Wiegman asked the audience to applaud the Spanish team, stating that “they deserve to be celebrated.”
“We all know the problems surrounding the Spanish team,” he said.
“It hurts a lot as a coach, mother of two daughters, as a wife and as a human being. And it shows, the game has grown a lot, but there is still a long way to go in women’s football and in society,” she said.
“I would like to dedicate this award to the Spanish team, the team that played such good football that everyone enjoyed,” he added.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote on social media: “This should never have ever happened.”
Infantino then posted a photo of himself with the world champions on Instagram, writing: “Unfortunately, the well-deserved celebration of these magnificent champions was marred and ruined by what happened after the final whistle.”
“FIFA’s disciplinary bodies immediately assumed their responsibility and took the necessary measures.
“For our part, we must continue to focus on how we can continue to support women and women’s football in the future. On and off the pitch,” she added.
Infantino was criticized for a speech he gave at the World Cup in which he said women who “pick the right fights” can “convince us men of what we need to do” to advance women’s soccer.
“We cannot allow such abuses of power”
The incident has sparked a global conversation about consent and power, with widespread protests across Spain in support of Hermoso.
The forward’s international teammate Aitana Bonmati also spoke about the incident while accepting her player of the year award at the UEFA event.
“Thanks to Sarina for her words. These are not very good times for Spanish football”, said the 25-year-old midfielder.
“We just won the World Cup, but they don’t talk about it because things have happened that I wish didn’t happen. As a society, we must not allow such abuse of power in an employment relationship or such disrespect,” he added.
Regional leaders of the Spanish soccer federation have called on Rubiales to resign immediately, while Spanish prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation to determine whether the incident constitutes a crime of sexual assault.
Spain’s Sports Tribunal (TAD) also met on Monday to discuss the Spanish government’s request to suspend Rubiales, whose decision has yet to be announced.
Football has a ‘women’s problem’
Meanwhile, Chelsea women’s manager Emma Hayes says she is hopeful the situation will turn out to be a “great awakening moment” in Spain.
“This is not just an isolated incident,” Hayes said, speaking in Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4.
“This is a multi-year systemic problem in which the women’s national team has complained on more than one occasion about the level of treatment and equal opportunity and access for all of them.
“I hope this brings a seismic and systemic change and you can see it in the reaction in all of Spain, which is undoubtedly supportive of Jenni Hermoso and the entire Spanish team,” he said.
“This is a great moment of awakening for Spanish society and it goes beyond Spanish football in terms of how women feel they are treated or mistreated,” she added.
Hayes assured that just as in Spain, in England there is also misogyny.
“I have to deal with it regularly. Do I think we are much more advanced than Spain? Yes. But we still have a lot of work to do.
“Of course [el fútbol] he has a ‘woman problem’. We have to look at some of the work done to challenge the same issues around racism because some people aren’t aware of how inherently misogynistic they are.
“We are moving in the right direction but we want to continue progressing,” he concluded.
Remember that you can receive notifications from BBC News World. Download the latest version of our app and activate them so you don’t miss out on our best content.
Do you already know our YouTube channel? Subscribe!
See original article on BBC