The 2023 Women’s World Cup was the biggest and best version of the competition in history. This year’s event, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, was the first to feature 32 teams, instead of 20 as in years prior. It was the best attended and most watched Women’s World Cup ever, and when all the receipts came in, it was the second-highest grossing sporting event in the world.
Spain’s women played brilliantly against England in the final, where they saw out a 1-0 victory for their first-ever World Cup title. They were amazing the whole tournament, in fact, cruising past the Netherlands and Sweden — respectively ranked seventh and first in the world, by the way — en route to the championship.
They won a World Cup that had been a terrific success. Until the award ceremony in Sydney, that is, when Spain’s top soccer official Luis Ruibales grabbed his crotch as he stood next to the Queen of Spain and her 16-year-old-daughter. He apologized for that. But then he forcefully grabbed Jennifer Hermoso, one of the Spanish stars, for a non-consensual kiss while on the podium.
So here we are. Instead of focusing on a Spanish masterclass, we’re stuck talking about Rubiales, a man whose career on and off the field doesn’t hold a candle to the women he insults every day he remains president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
No one is talking about Spain’s heroes, about Olga Carmona’s breathtaking goal to win the final, or the dazzling footwork of Alexia Putellas, or the scorching speed of the tournament’s breakout star, Salma Paralluelo. One man has managed to steal all that attention and make everything about him. He’s a disgrace, and he needs to leave now.
HERMOSO, for her part, called the kiss “an impulse-driven, sexist, out-of-place act without any consent on my part.” The Friday after, Rubiales, slimy as an eel, spoke at a press conference where everyone thought he’d tender an apology and his resignation. He did neither, claiming to be the victim of a “witch hunt” where “false feminists” are out to get him. The Spanish women’s coach Jorge Vilda (who also needs to get the boot) applauded. And in a disgusting move that reeks of machismo, the Spanish soccer federation has said it will investigate Hermoso for lying about the kiss. The Spanish soccer federation has said it will investigate Hermoso for lying about the kiss.
Please. The world saw it.
Please. The world saw it. The women’s team has backed Hermoso, boycotting any future games until Rubiales leaves. FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, has suspended Rubiales, and on Monday Spanish authorities said they were investigating the episode as possible sexual assault. (The men’s national team and their stars, you ask? Crickets. Their coach has backed Rubiales.)
THIS IS TOO OLD of a story to have to explain away once again. One can only hope the moment brings a reckoning in Spain, that it serves as an inflection point. That it brings real and lasting change.
Because unless Rubiales is fired, and that is different than a resignation, the lesson to women is crystal clear: You can rise to the pinnacle of sport, become champions of the world, but it doesn’t matter. You are still subject to the casual aggression (and worse) of mediocre scumbags like Rubiales.
Until Rubiales is punished, no means no — except when your country wins the World Cup. No means no — unless you’re president. No means no — until it doesn’t. Until powerful men decide it does.
As they are saying in Spain, se acabó. Time’s up. The longer the Spanish soccer federation waits to get rid of Rubiales, the more it insults women across the world — and disgraces its deserving champions.
