Most players on Spain’s women’s national soccer team end their boycott
Most of Spain’s Women’s World Cup-winning players ended their boycott of the national team early Wednesday after the government intervened to help shape an agreement that was expected to lead to immediate structural changes at the country’s soccer federation.
Only two players, Barcelona teammates Patri Guijarro and Mapi León, opted to leave the training camp in the eastern city of Valencia after receiving guarantees from the government that they would not be sanctioned, with the rest staying after being told that some of their demands for reform would be met.
The players had reported to camp Tuesday after being picked by new coach Montse Tomé against their will Monday, the latest twist in the crisis that has engulfed Spanish soccer since former federation president Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony following the World Cup title match in Australia last month.
Details of the agreed-upon changes were not revealed after the hours-long meetings involving the government’s top sports official, players, Tomé and federation officials. The meetings ended at nearly 5 a.m. Wednesday.
The president of the FUTRPO players’ union, Amanda Gutiérrez, said steps had been made toward establishing the same treatment for Spain’s women’s and men’s national teams.
“An agreement has been reached to make changes to the structure of women’s soccer, so that the executive and administrative staff will match that of the men’s team, to further professionalize the team and staff,” Gutiérrez said.
Suspended Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has resigned after a kiss scandal that tarnished Spain’s victory at the Women’s World Cup.
Víctor Francos, the Spanish government’s secretary for sports and president of the Higher Council for Sports, said the “cordial meetings” led to the creation of a committee involving players, the federation and the government.
He said the agreements should promote advances in gender policies and equal pay, as well as lead to structural changes in women’s soccer. It was not clear, though, if any firings would take place in the federation.
Among the demands by the players was to have interim president Pedro Rocha, who took over after Rubiales’ resignation, also step down.
León and Guijarro have not played for Spain since they formed part of a player revolt by 15 team members last year, when they refused to play for the national team until the federation established a more “professional” working environment. It turned out to be a precursor to the current uprising.
Danish footballers Ann Stengard and Birte Kjems, who won the first Women’s World Cup in 1971, discussed the controversy at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“The situation for Patri and me is different from our teammates’,” León said when leaving the team. “This was not the proper way to come back. We were not ready to just say, ‘OK, we are back.’ This is a process.”
She added, however, that “we are happy that changes are being made.”
Spain’s acting minister for culture and sports, Miquel Iceta, said he was hopeful the federation’s expected reforms would create an environment in which “the players truly feel motivated, comfortable and happy to play and to win.”
Iceta said the federation plans to hold early elections in the first months of 2024.
After Luis Rubiales planted an unwelcome kiss on star midfielder Jenni Hermoso, he could have apologized. Instead, his response has only deepened the scandal.
“We hope that that the renewal of the federation will be a turning point,” Iceta said.
Officials said the players did not call for Tomé to step down. Tomé was an assistant to former coach Jorge Vilda at the Women’s World Cup. She had resigned during the Rubiales uproar but agreed to come back to replace Vilda after he was fired.
On Monday, Tomé picked nearly half of the 39 players who said they would not play for the national team until their demands were met, including 15 World Cup-winning players. Hermoso was not among them, and Tomé said the decision was made as “a way to protect her.” Hermoso, who said she did not consent to the kiss by Rubiales, had accused the federation of trying to intimidate her teammates by picking them for the national team against their will.
The squad announcement had been originally planned for Friday but was postponed because no agreement had been reached with the players.
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The players said they were caught by surprise by the squad announcement but showed up to camp because otherwise they risked breaking a Spanish sports law that requires athletes to answer the call of national teams unless there are circumstances that impede them from playing, such as an injury.
Not responding to a call-up by a national team can expose a player to fines or even being banned from playing for their clubs. Those punishments would have to be requested by the federation to the government’s sports council, which would decide whether to apply them.
The government said after the meetings that it would not seek any punishment for the players who decided to leave.
Spain will play Nations League games against Sweden on Friday and Switzerland on Tuesday. The team is set to practice later Wednesday at the hotel in Valencia where the players and officials held their marathon meeting.
Megan Rapinoe criticized former President Trump, U.S. women’s soccer team critics and Spanish soccer head Luis Rubiales for kissing a player on the lips at the World Cup.
The overnight meeting coincided with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s meeting with Gianni Infantino in New York to promote Spain’s joint bid with Portugal and Morocco to host the men’s World Cup in 2030.
Sánchez’s government had expressed concern that the Rubiales scandal could hurt the bid.
Spanish politicians, soccer clubs and players, along with many fans, have supported the players in their clash with the federation. The government and feminist groups have characterized it as a #MeToo movement in Spanish soccer.
