“For decades there has been systematic discrimination against the women’s team”

2023-09-21 17:34:13

Barcelona”In the final of the World Cup, some inadmissible events happened and the final straw was the subsequent assembly. This could not happen. Things could not continue on this path. Zero tolerance. For Jenni and for to us. A precedent like this could not be created”, said Alexia Putellas, player of the Spanish national team and Barça, in the press conference prior to the match against Sweden tomorrow, Friday. “We have been demanding that they listen to us for quite some time because there has been systematic discrimination against the women’s team for decades. We had to fight hard to be heard, a fact that leads to attrition that we do not want to have,” he added the two-time Ballon d’Or.

Anyway, Alexia is now optimistic: “I consider the meeting the other day (with the RFEF and the CSD) to be a before and after. I trust that the agreements we reached will make our sport and society be much better.” In this sense, the Blaugrana has admitted that they have been “sleeping only four hours for a week because of the meetings” they have had. And, asked if they have pressured to fire coaches, she assured that the players have “never” asked to “put or remove a coach”.

He also referred to the matter of Irene Paredes: “We didn’t want to go to the rally because of everything that happened this month. We were forced to go. But we decided to stay because we think it’s what we have to do because the deals are done and all that goes ahead. Also, we have a responsibility to the U-23 national team. And if we weren’t there, they probably would have been called.” Alexia and Paredes have appeared before the media in Gothenburg, where the Spanish national team will play against Sweden tomorrow at 6.30 pm in the first match of the Nations League, a qualifying competition for next year’s Olympic Games.

“Since I came into office I’ve tried to focus on the sporting side: building my coaching staff and planning for the Sweden and Switzerland games. From there, things happened that other people control, not me. I’m sorry that there were errors in communication, maybe it was due to lack of time. I always wanted to protect the players, especially Jennifer Hermoso”, argued, for her part, Montse Tomé, the new Spanish coach. “On the list I gave were the players I considered suitable from a sporting point of view”, added Tomé, showing a low tone at all times, visibly affected by the situation.

Asked for the reasons why she said that she had spoken to the players before giving the list of players, considering that the players themselves have admitted that this was not the case, Tomé tried to justify: “I was asked if I had talked to the players and I said yes because I talked to them. Although not all of them. But no one asked me if I had talked to all of them.” On the other hand, about his continuity after the game in Switzerland next Tuesday, Tomé explained that “he has confidence in the work and he wants to work”. In addition, she said that the fact that “the changes that (the players) request are given is something that is not part of the things” that she can direct and that they “escape outside” of her “control” .

These press conferences are being held hours after Claudia Pina, who like Mapi León and Patri Guijarro was declared ineligible for the World Cup, has been released from the concentration of the Spanish U23 national team, in the same way that his two teammates from Barça of the absolute. The three footballers have already trained with the Barcelona team this morning at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.

Four members of the RFEF summoned to testify

All this happens on the same day that Francisco de Jorge, the head of court number 1 of the National Court, has summoned four members of the RFEF to testify as witnesses for Rubiales’ kiss in Hermoso: Rubén Rivera, marketing director; Miguel García Caba, director of integrity, Albert Luque, director of the selection; and Patricia Pérez, head of press for the women’s team. As Cadena SER has reported, despite the fact that all of them have been cited as witnesses, among these four people are some of those who allegedly coerced Hermoso in the hours following the kiss. Therefore, it is not ruled out that the accusations ask the magistrate to change their status from witnesses to investigated.

After winning the World Cup, the world champions traveled to Ibiza to celebrate the great success. Some important officials from the RFEF also went there, such as Albert Luque, director of the Spanish national team, and Rubén Rivera, director of marketing. But, rather than being part of the celebration, his role there consisted of trying to put out the fire caused by Rubiales’ kiss in Hermoso.