The entire Spain roster that won the 2023 World Cup said in a joint statement that they will not play for the national team as long as “current leaders” continue in their positions.
The letter, released through the Spanish players’ union FUTPRO, was issued as a response to an extraordinary speech given by Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales earlier on Friday, during which he refused to resign despite widespread reports he would do so.
Rubiales has been under huge pressure after his kiss on the lips of Spain star Jenni Hermoso following Sunday’s World Cup final.
In his speech on Friday, Rubiales insisted that Hermoso had consented to the kiss. But in the letter from FUTPRO, Hermoso flatly denied having done so.
“I want to clarify that, as seen in the images, at no time did I consent to the kiss he gave me and, of course, in no case did I seek to lift up the president. I do not tolerate my word being questioned, much less words that I haven’t said be made up,” Hermoso said.
A total of 81 players from Spain’s past and present signed the letter, including all 23 on the World Cup roster.
It was unclear if the Spanish players were calling for the ouster of anyone other than Rubiales. The team’s issues with the RFEF long predate the incident between Rubiales and Hermoso, with 15 players going on strike last fall to protest poor working conditions and the methods of head coach Jorge Vilda.
The RFEF, led by Rubiales, backed Vilda, who stayed in charge through the World Cup. Of the 15 players who initially revolted last fall, only three returned to the World Cup roster.
Full letter from Spain women’s national team
🚨 Las jugadoras de la @SEFutbolFem, campeonas del mundo y otras futbolistas, en apoyo a @Jennihermoso , manifiestan su firme condena ante conductas que han atentado contra la dignidad de las mujeres.
El comunicado queda abierto a las futbolistas que se quieran adherir#seacabo pic.twitter.com/PW91SW9Ts0— FUTPRO (@futpro_es) August 25, 2023
As a result of the events that took place this morning and given the perplexity of the speech delivered by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Mr. Luis Manuel Rubiales Béjar, the players of the senior team, recent world champions, in support of Jennifer Hermoso, want to express their firm and resounding condemnation of behaviors that have violated the dignity of women.
In view of the statements made by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Jennifer Hermoso wants to flatly deny that she consented to the kiss that Don Luis Manuel Rubiales Béjar gave her in the World Cup Final.
“I want to clarify that, as seen in the images, at no time did I consent to the kiss he gave me and, of course, in no case did I seek to lift up the president. I do not tolerate my word being questioned, much less words that I haven’t said be made up,” says Hermoso.
From our union we want to emphasize that no woman should feel the need to respond to the forceful images that the whole world has seen and of course, they should not be involved in non-consensual attitudes.
The players of the Spanish national team, current world champions, expect forceful answers from the public powers so that actions such as those contained do not go unpunished.
We want to end this statement, asking for real changes, both sporting and structural, that help the national team to continue growing, in order to transfer this great success to later generations. It fills us with sadness that such an unacceptable event is managing to tarnish the greatest sporting success of Spanish women’s football.
After everything that happened during the Women’s World Cup, we want to state that all the players who sign this letter will not return a call for the national team if the current leaders continue.
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