It came, finally, through an unlikely crusader, as Piers Morgan was first to receive the news that Luis Rubiales had resigned as head of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
Three weeks after kissing Jenni Hermoso amidst the celebrations after the World Cup final in Sydney, Rubiales had an idea: to ask his daughters, just in case their opinions differed drastically from the rest of the Spanish sisterhood. They told him, he revealed on Morgan’s show, to “focus on your dignity”, rather than risk causing further damage to “people you love and the sport you love, and you built”.
The last three words weren’t strictly necessary, but they were telling – and not just of the ego that allowed him to withstand the 21 days that turned him into a global villain. Rubiales has indeed been at the centre of Spanish football for so long, and his influence has been so pervasive that, tempting though it has been, it has become hard to imagine the RFEF without him.
Rubiales’ tentacles reached into every aspect of the game, with even Jorge Vilda’s presence in the dugout a hint at the coach’s family friendship with the boss. Vilda, too, has had to go. Sacked on 5 September, partly due to his public applause of Rubiales (which he later retracted and condemned his behaviour), his departure was the first sign that winning the World Cup will no longer be an excuse for allegedly coercive and controlling behaviour.
His players had accused him of emotional abuse, with 12 making themselves unavailable for selection while he remained in charge. Among the public allegations made: that while on tours he had forbidden them to lock their hotel doors until he had given them permission to turn their lights out and sleep.
The RFEF’s culture had become toxic long before Rubiales’ behaviour at the final gave a glimpse into the issues that had harrowed women’s football in the country for a long time.
As the sport begins to heal, however, it will become clearer that while Rubiales and Vilda caused problems, they were two symptoms of a wider picture.
Liga F (the women’s top flight) only became professional ahead of the 2021-22 season. Last weekend, its fixtures were abandoned with players on strike for the first two weeks of the new campaign as they continue to battle for what they call a “dignified minimum wage”.
In the most recent season, it was set at just €16,000 per season – around £13,700. It is understood that higher offers have been made since then but players are holding out for €25,000 (£21,400) in 2023-24, which would then rise to €30,000 (£25,700) the following year. By comparison, it is estimated the minimum salary for a male player in La Liga Is €182,000 (£155,000). Four sides in Liga F do not have the backing of a men’s team and have little chance of seriously competing.
The players are in a stronger position than ever, having shown the technical gulf between the Spanish national side and the rest of the world – and that is without 12 of their best players, including Mapi Leon, Lucia Garcia and Laia Aleixandri. After the World Cup final, a total of 81 players ruled themselves out of international duty, including all 23 who had won the tournament, until Rubiales was gone.
The first step will be for them to return under Montse Tome, Vilda’s successor who is expected to usher in a new era. There is a real danger, at least as far as their opponents are concerned, that they will now get even better.
As for Rubiales, he admitted he had resigned partly in the hope that it would aid Spain’s bid, launched alongside Morocco, for the 2030 World Cup. But Fifa, who suspended Rubiales over his recent behaviour, will have to see evidence of serious change first.
There is a reason he held on for so long. The RFEF could not sack him because a third of local associations did not vote that way in an extraordinary meeting held to discuss the crisis, which left them at the mercy of his whims.
The fact so many representatives were happy for him to stay suggests there is a long way to go even if, as Spain’s acting Labour minister Yolanda Diaz put it, “the feminist country is advancing faster and faster”.
It was never just about the kiss – it was the subsequent attempts by the RFEF to dismiss Hermoso’s complaints, asking her to write a statement playing down the incident. In fact, it was not even the only incident of that evening, with Rubiales caught on camera making lewd gestures as he celebrated the winning goal.
The saga took on a surreal quality when his mother locked herself in a Catholic church and went on hunger strike – of all the justifications for these types of protests over the years, having raised a misogynist isn’t usually one – and still, he refused to go. Even as his own family members claimed that this was not the first time he had engaged in questionable conduct in his private life, he would not budge.
Is it any wonder there has been so little progress? With Rubiales and Vilda out, Spanish football can start to rebuild but the scars that have been left are deep – and they were never just about two men.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/dYJho4i
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