On August 21, the Spanish Women’s National Soccer Team won an electric World Cup Final match against England. The game closed out a tournament that broke all kinds of records, from attendance to viewers to the price of broadcasting. However, much of the world does not remember it for these records, instead seeing and hearing about the scandal within the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), where Luis Rubiales, the head of RFEF, kissed a player without consent on live television. This sparked international discourse about the historical treatment of female athletes, particularly in soccer, leading many to wonder why it took a scandal of this magnitude to instigate these discussions.
Acknowledging RFEF’s history of misogyny is essential to understanding the significance of this moment. The assault is far from the first controversy that RFEF has been involved in in recent years. It is not even the only dispute between the women’s team and the federation in the past two years. In the months leading up to the 2023 Women’s World Cup, fifteen players decided to put their entire livelihoods on the line and challenge the conditions that RFEF forced. As Rory Smith of the New York Times described, the protest “was rooted in a desire to force the federation to change. The team wanted better facilities, a proper support staff, a professionalized environment, [and] a coach who did not track their every move.” The players were forced to leave hotel bedroom doors open, were checked to make sure they were in bed, and players were even told by a former head coach that “what you really need is a good man and a big penis.”
Just imagine being told this so bluntly by a person who you cannot speak back to, especially when it could be taken as a threat. In soccer, the coach and the general manager hold almost all of the power on the team. They are often the same person. If a player reported him or even spoke back, there is a good chance that she would not be called back up to the team, regardless of skill.
No player is safe because, for female soccer players, most club teams do not compensate them enough to maintain a decent lifestyle, meaning that the players rely in large part on their national team salaries to support themselves. The Spanish Federation knows this and knows that they hold complete power over the players, meaning that they had little choice but to go along with the terrible conditions.
Hopes were high when a new coach was hired. Jorge Vilda was supposed to herald in a new period of equality, or at least, an improvement from the old guard. However, that notion was quickly put to rest when Vilda continued using the “outdated methods and controlling behavior” that had become synonymous with the team’s culture. Fifteen players were brave and desperate enough to revolt against their federation and announce their resignation from the national team. In doing so, they gained the support of the world while losing that of their country.
Vilda responded that this mutiny was unacceptable, releasing to the public that he would require all fifteen players to write a lengthy apology and warned that the players would “face bans of between two and five years for what [RFEF] described as a ‘very serious infraction’”. RFEF also released a statement that the players “will only return to the discipline of the national team in the future if they accept their mistake and apologize.” This handling of the situation is hugely problematic because it continues the exact system of patriarchy and public humiliation that these players attempted to change.
Queue the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Spain was seen as a contender, but less so than other giants such as the US, Germany, or Brazil, since they came into the tournament with a very young roster. Of the fifteen players that resigned, only three were called back up to the tournament, meaning that Vilda had to replace twelve valuable players. He did this by calling up players from Spain’s U-21 National Team, a group that had shown their quality by winning the U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2020. It is usual for a World Cup team to have a few young players to bring energy to the team, but it is also typical to bring many veterans, particularly on a historically winning team. The average age of the Spanish Women’s National Team was 25.2 years old, the youngest of any team in the tournament.
Spain’s route to the final was not clear-cut, suffering a 4-0 defeat to Japan in the group stage, but despite that blunder, the team quickly rallied to defeat some of the highest-level teams in the world, including Sweden and the Netherlands before facing England. Reaching this point was monumental in its own right, but the fact that the team reached the final of the most prestigious tournament in soccer is just a testament to their grit and skill. They won so many games in spite of the leadership and coaching, not because of or due to.
Functioning in a toxic environment is so unbelievably difficult, yet the 23 players on the roster were able to maintain their dignity while also playing some of the most beautiful soccer seen in recent history. The chemistry between the players is visible in their possession-based form of football, where each player relies on all 10 other players on the field. Off the field, even the players who did not or could not participate in the early protest against RFEF showed their support online and in person, demanding better conditions for themselves and future players.
Spoiler alert: Spain wins the final, and what should have been the brightest, most celebratory time in any of the players’ lives is eclipsed by assault. After the final of any World Cup is played, the winning team is honored individually with medals handed to them, often by the head of their federation, as was the case here. Everything was in place for one of the most beautiful ceremonies yet: a beautiful stage set up, high-profile leaders and former players in attendance, and the joy of people who have withstood so many obstacles, survived so much inequality, and have finally proven their excellence.
Yet an odd thing occurred when the medals were being handed out: Luis Rubiales seemed to be getting very touchy with the players. Hugs and handshakes are normal, even expected, but lifting players up and kissing them aggressively on the cheek? Absolutely not. Especially with the history of the protests, the average age of the players, and the clear fact that the players were anything but comfortable with this. This kind of behavior is deeply inexcusable and shows the depth to which the men in charge of the women’s team believe they can reap the rewards of these players while treating them like dirt. When Jenni Hermoso, a veteran and star on the team, was called up to receive her medal, Luis Rubiales performs his worst transgression yet: as she approaches him, he grabs her head and, after a few words, kisses her directly on the lips.
Following huge public backlash from the international community and from Spain, Rubiales maintained his position that the kiss was consensual, that the agreement was formed during those couple of words exchanged. While there is a case to be made for both sides, the truth is still that his actions took the spotlight that should have been shone on the players and instead directed the attention to himself and his victim.
The backlash against Rubiales was swift and brutal from the press, the public, and his own prime minister. Pedro Sanchez denounced Rubiales during a speech at the Spanish presidential palace, saying his actions were “unacceptable”, his lack of apology “not sufficient [and] … inappropriate”. Despite the overwhelming criticism from the world, Rubiales held an RFEF meeting, where he declared his intention to continue his tenure as FA president, repeating the words “I’m not going to resign, I’m not going to resign, I’m not going to resign.” He finished his speech to tremendous applause, from Vilda and others in the room after maintaining that the kiss was consensual.
There is a case to be made for this statement. Although there is no video or audio evidence, Rubiales claims that during their short conversation, (which he likens to that between a father and daughter) Hermoso called him “a crack” (an endearing jab) which led to Rubiales asking for “a little peck”. Additionally, video has emerged of the celebrations on the bus after the game where the players, including Hermoso, are seen and heard joking about the incident. Hermoso is pictured comparing herself and Rubiales to a teammate and her partner while laughing and drinking out of a bottle of some alcoholic drink (as is custom after winning such a large tournament) as her teammates laugh and cheer. Rubiales and his supporters use this video as evidence that the kiss was not as serious as Hermoso and others have said.
It’s not a great look for Hermoso to seem to change tact so quickly to speak against the event, but as professionals at Reachout Australia point out, trauma, and especially sexual assault, oftentimes does not process until later and even then the victim may try to downplay the effects. They wrote: “Sexual assault is a form of trauma, and confronting that trauma can be really tough….Everyone’s responses to trauma can look totally different.”
While Hermoso may have been laughing about the situation mere hours after it took place, while also under the influence of alcohol, that doesn’t mean she had the time or ability to process what happened to her. Reachout also writes that victims may “feel unable to accept what actually happened…might deny that what happened to [them] was sexual assault because it’s too awful or scary to think about.”
From Hermoso’s perspective, one of the most powerful people in her life just assaulted her on international television after the biggest match of her life. That’s terrifying in of itself but then add on the fact that this is a man who, mere months earlier, decided that more than half of the team was expendable because they refused to cooperate with his actions. Hermoso risked her career and livelihood to bring the truth to light and hold this man accountable for actions that people like him have gotten away with for far too long.
Rubiales has remained adamant that his relationship with Hermoso has always been “the same as…one of my daughters”. He said that he has “a great relationship with all the players and we have experienced very affectionate moments in this camp.”
Many of these players are less than half his age. Hermoso herself is 13 years younger, at 46 and 33 years respectively, so the idea that he would treat them as daughters may have held up if it weren’t for two things. The first being that you don’t kiss your daughters on the lips. The second being the protest months earlier. There is too much tension and fear within this federation to have that close of a relationship with a man who deemed many of your teammates and friends disposable, discarding their careers and fame as though they were nothing but thorns in his side.
In an environment like that, fear permeates the climate more than a father-daughter relationship ever could. Rachel Chaundler of the New York Times released an article in September of 2023 detailing the conditions that the women working in Spanish soccer endure every day. Chaundler got the perspective of more than 12 women, all with a similar consensus: they are seen as inferior to the men and constantly pushed out of their positions, whether forcefully or by the onslaught of misogyny they faced. The sports section of BBC News reported that 81 Spanish players, past and present, male and female, announced a strike of their respective national teams until Rubiales was gone, spurring his eventual resignation. Of those 81 players, 39 of them continued their strike, demanding further progress since getting rid of one person cannot solve the decades of misogyny built into the system.
The outcome of this entire situation is not all bad, despite the tumultuous journey to get there. In the aftermath of the scandal, both the world and members of RFEF agreed that both Rubiales and Vilda had crossed many lines, resulting in Vilda’s termination and the instatement of the first female coach to ever be in charge of the Spanish Women’s National Team, Montse Tomé. Rubiales is being investigated for sexual assault in Spain and has been banned from holding office of any kind in soccer for three years. This may not seem like a lot, but the world’s response and outcry were enough to ensure that any federation looking to hire Rubiales in the future will have to contend with the consequences of his past. Jorge Vilda has been hired as head coach of the Moroccan Women’s National Team, a move that was heavily criticized by many around the world.
The women of the Spanish National Team have not gotten their complete “happy ever after” yet – Hermoso herself has declared that “nothing has changed”. Although I do not completely agree with this, the continued imbalance of power is evidenced by the fact that many of the players who continued the strike after Rubiales’ resignation were then forced to attend the next training camp and matches after the World Cup via threats of large fines and suspensions. Reuters reports that under Spain’s Sports Act if the players refused the call-up, they “could face a fine of up to 30,000 euros ($32,000) and suspension…for two to 15 years”.
This is a huge amount of time for many of them to survive financially without the stipends that come with playing for the national team, not to mention the hefty fines.
The biggest name left off the roster was one Jenni Hermoso, who, Tomé said, was left off “to protect her”, despite Hermoso’s response asking, “from whom?” he has been called up to subsequent camps and matches and has regained her standing as a leader on the team.
Although there is still progress to be made, it is important to acknowledge everything the players have done to create the change that was so badly needed within the federation. Although it took an international scandal to do so, the progress is still palpable and will impact women’s soccer everywhere. This sets a precedent, especially when women’s soccer is getting so much more publicity than ever before, that this kind of treatment will not stand.
