Having just been part of the Spanish team that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the last thing midfielder Jenni Hermoso should have to do is answer how she felt about being kissed on the lips by Spain’s football federation president.
But that’s what happened in the hours following Spain’s victory, thanks to Luis Rubiales, who used Hermoso’s moment on the podium to plant a kiss on her lips.
He indulged in doing so in front of a global audience, during a moment that belonged to Hermoso — possibly the greatest moment in her career, on stage celebrating a World Cup victory.
Rubiales then told the world to think nothing of it, stating that those upset or concerned about it are “idiots”. Later again, he apologised and conceded that the kiss has “somewhat tarnished the celebrations”.
The incident was the latest in a series of examples of women skyrocketing the game to new heights and achievements — with record ticket sales, merchandise and global viewer numbers — only to have their moments undercut by the actions of senior, powerful men.
Indeed, just prior to Sunday night’s final, and lapping up the final days of the success of the tournament, FIFA President Gianni Infantino urged women to “pick the right battles” when asked about the equal pay fight, and that equal prize money between the men’s and women’s tournaments wouldn’t “solve” or be a “symbol” of anything. He then told women to do more, and leveraged the, “I have daughters” argument to claim some credibility for giving the advice.
“I say to all the women that you have the power to change,” he said. “Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights. You have the power to change. You have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don’t have to do. You do it. Just do it. With men, with FIFA, you will find open doors. Just push the doors. They are open.”
Those open doors include a 36 person FIFA Council, with just six women included. The players prize pool from the World Cup was $110 million, a rise from what was offered in France in 2019, but still significantly short of the $440 million awarded at the men’s competition in 2022.
And the open doors include a continuned culture of sexual harassment in football at the global level — and not only behind closed doors, but also on the most public of stages. It’s a culture where Gianni Infantino is very unlikely to call out the actions of Rubiales, which occured at his very tournament. And a culture, under it’s current leadership, that’s very unlikely to issue a zero tolerance to such behaviour and actions in the future, despite claiming to be on a “path to gender equality”.
In responding to questions about the unsolicited kiss, Jenni Hermoso has been careful with her words — and you can understand why, given the history of what’s occured in women’s football in Spain over the past few years.
“Yeah, I did not enjoy that,” Hermoso said on social media. She later described the kiss as a “natural gesture of affection” and said that the “gesture of friendship and gratitude cannot be gone over so much, we have won a World Cup and we are not going to deviate from what is important.”
Rubiales’ actions come after a controversial year for the Spanish football federation, which culminated in 15 of the national team members sending letters to the body to say they would no longer play for Spain as long as Jorge Vilda remained coach of the team. Vilda was the coach on the sidelines of Monday night’s team, despite facing numerous complaints over his training methods and treatment of players. Rubiales had supported Vilda, with Rubiales expressing feelings of vindication following Monday night’s win, saying that, “the small percentage of people who were constant frustrated and resentful must learn that you have to let people work.” Curiously, just three of the 15 players who wrote that letter were invited back into the World Cup squad.
Australian former Socceroo, commentator and activist Craig Foster urged FIFA and the Spanish Football Association to stand Rubiales down, describing the kiss as “horrific”.
“Women in sport are daily subject to an extreme power differential, objectification, harassment, sexual abuse and an absence of agency and power,” he Tweeted. “This is horrific.”