Jenni Hermoso, who played a vital role in Spain's victory at the FIFA Women's World Cup, should have spent the week celebrating. Instead, she has been dealing with the aftermath of being kissed, without her consent, on live television by Luis Rubiales, President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, and the ensuing controversy.
You could be forgiven for forgetting that Spain won the World Cup a week ago – the headlines have instead been dominated by disturbing accusations of sexual harassment against Rubiales.
His stunning refusal to accept responsibility for his actions, led to the entire Women's World Cup squad announcing they would refuse to play for the national team while he remained in his role.
During a speech on Friday where Rubiales was widely expected to announce his resignation, instead he embarked on a shocking defence, repeatedly shouting, “I'm not going to quit.” He continued, “I apologise unreservedly, but I don't deserve this manhunt I have been suffering.”
He then drew attention back to Jenni – who, reminder, should be enjoying her victory in peace – saying, "Jenni was the one who lifted me up […] I told her to 'forget about the penalty' and I said to her 'a little peck?' and she said 'OK'.
“It was a spontaneous kiss. Mutual, euphoric and consensual. That's the key.
“A consensual 'peck' is enough to get me out of here? I will fight until the end.”
He was applauded by the audience, including Spain's manager Jorge Vilda, who survived a mutiny last year after 15 Spanish players calling out his management tactics, alleging they had a detrimental impact on their physical and mental health (which he denies).
It seems not everyone agreed with Rubiales' stance, as 81 Spanish players, including the full squad of 23 from the Women's World Cup, announced they would not play for the national team until Rubiales was no longer in his position. The Spanish government also started legal proceedings with the aim of suspending Rubiales.
On Saturday, FIFA announced they had provisionally suspended Rubiales, and confirmed that it had opened disciplinary proceedings against him. Spain's Football Federation also announced its sexual violence protocol has been activated after a complaint and the incident will now be investigated.
In days after the 'kiss' incident, instead of celebrating, Jenni was seemingly placed under considerable pressure. Through no fault of her own, she's become responsible for calling out Rubiales' behaviour – as well as seemingly facing internal pressure not to make a big deal out of it. Jenni said on a live stream that she “did not like” being kissed by Rubiales, which appeared at odds with her apparent statement released later (via the Royal Spanish Football Federation, [RFEF]) claiming it “was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.”
Rubiales is alleged to have pressured Jenni to release a joint video statement about the incident, which she rejected. Jorge Vilda is also reported to have approached Hermoso’s family to try and persuade her to publicly support Rubiales. He is yet to speak publicly on this matter.
Along with the world players' union FIFPRO, Jenni called for action to be taken against Rubiales. Spain's women's football league, Liga F, lodged a complaint with the president of the National Sports Council (CSD) over his “very serious actions and behaviour,” noting, “For a boss to grab his employee by the head and kiss her on the mouth simply cannot be tolerated.”
From the outset, Hermoso was forced to assume responsibility for the consequences of Rubiales' actions as people in positions of power scrambled to take control of the narrative. Did anyone stop to ask how she was feeling?
Any woman who has suffered at the hands of such machismo understands how powerless it can make you feel. You don't want to make more noise; you just want to forget it ever happened. Now imagine it happened on the world stage, with your entire country (and the rest of the world) watching. Who could think clearly under such circumstances? Who should have to?
Despite everything, Rubiales (and many of his colleagues) tried everything in their power to ride out the scandal. They are a symptom of a wider, terrifying problem: we must call for an end to the machismo culture thriving within Spanish sport and if Jenni wants to lead the way? We'll follow. But that's her choice – nobody else's.
This article was first published on Glamour Spain.
