2023-08-29 14:07:43
With a 1-0 win against England, the Spanish footballers won their country’s first title at a Women’s World Cup. Actually, in the weeks that followed, the players of the successful team should be the number one topic of conversation. Instead, in the week and a half since the World Cup final, one man has dominated the international headlines: Luis Rubiales. The president of the Spanish Football Association kissed offensive player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth without being asked after winning the final game at the award ceremony. In a statement, Hermoso later described the kiss as “not at all consensual”. She felt “vulnerable” and a “victim of an impulse-driven and sexist assault.” The professional footballer has received support from many quarters in Spain and beyond. Even Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his clear disapproval of Rubiales’ behavior. And the association president himself? He gives the lamb of innocence and showed no insight despite numerous calls for his resignation. Rather, the 46-year-old spoke of “false feminism” and declared that he would be “publicly executed”.
That a powerful man in the football business shows so little insight when confronted with his own wrongdoing is not surprising. Why should powerful men in sports be better than their colleagues from the film industry or the music business, who regularly react unreasonably and rudely to MeToo allegations. However, it is quite astonishing that the president of a world-renowned football association, in one of the most successful hours of his association, behaves in such a way that the sporting success becomes a minor matter. With the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, women’s football managed to spark enthusiasm among fans worldwide. Finally, the Women’s World Cup was no longer about the gender of the protagonists, but about the sport. One man has now managed to let this focus on sport go out again.
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#Luis #Rubiales #intransigence #surprising