Spanish players were celebrating their victory over England at the women’s World Cup in Sydney in late August when the president of the Spanish soccer federation kissed a player on the lips. The incident — which the player called out as nonconsensual — caused national and international outrage. It also highlighted ongoing issues with attitudes toward consent and harassment in Spain.
The Spanish soccer federation initially backed its president, Luis Rubiales, accusing midfielder Jenni Hermoso of lying when she said she was kissed against her will, and said it would take legal action. After a public outcry and support for Hermoso from dozens in the Spanish women’s soccer union — including World Cup players, who signed a statement refusing to play while the current leadership remained — there was a reckoning.
Rubiales stepped down in September. He was later banned for three years by FIFA, the international soccer federation. In January, a Spanish High Court judge recommended that Rubiales stand trial for sexual assault in the incident, and that the team’s former coach and two other officials face trial for allegedly pressuring Hermoso to support Rubiales. “I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out-of-place act, without any consent on my part,” said Hermoso, who said she’d faced pressure from the federation to absolve Rubiales. “Simply put, I was not respected.”
Some hoped the moment would bring broader change. “We are ready for this to be the #MeToo of Spanish football, and for this to be a change,” Víctor Francos, secretary of state for sports and head of Spain’s Higher Council for Sports, reportedly said in August.
Louisa Loveluck, Heba Farouk Mahfouz, Hajar Harb, Karen DeYoung, Sammy Westfall, Mary Beth Sheridan and Karla Adam contributed to this report.
