Spain national team player Jenni Hermoso again denies the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), whom she accuses of being sexist, after the controversial kiss following Spain’s victory at the Women’s World Cup.
After several players have said they will not be part of the new squad if Luis Rubiales remains chairman of the RFEF, Hermoso now denies again in a personal statement that the kiss was agreed to.
“I clarify that at no time did the conversation referred to by Mr. Luis Rubiales take place and that his kiss was, let alone, agreed to. lay.” like it”, begins with a reference to the Spain international in the note, quoted by El Mundo.
In the statement he made today, refusing to resign, Rubiales said it was an “allowed” kiss on the mouth. “The moment Jenni appeared, she lifted me off the ground. I told her to forget about the penalty and that without her we wouldn’t have won. She said I was the best, I asked: “A kiss?”, she said. yes. She said goodbye with a pat on the back,” he said. A conversation now denied by the player.
Official Announcement. August 25, 2023. pic.twitter.com/4OqhqwwJ8P
—Jennihermoso (@Jennihermoso) August 25, 2023
Jenni Hermoso said she was shocked by the kiss on Rubiales’ lips. “The situation shocked me because it happened in a festive context and with the passage of time and after the deepening of the sensations, I feel the need to denounce what happened because I believe that no one, in any work, social or sporting field, should be a victim of this kind of non-consensual behavior.”
“I felt vulnerable and the victim of aggression. An impulsive, sexist, pointless act and without any kind of consent on my part,” Hermoso underlined.
Admit you are under pressure
In the same statement, the player admitted that she was pressured by the RFEF after Rubiales’ gesture on the day the Spanish team became world champions in women’s football.
She assured that she was not “respected” at the beginning of the controversy. “I was asked to make a joint statement to ease the pressure on the president,” the athlete said in the note. “I am under constant pressure to make a statement that could justify the act of Mr. Luis Rubiales,” he denounced.
“The Federation pressured those around me to give testimony that had nothing to do with my feelings,” he charged.
Despite everything that happened and the developments that followed, Hermoso intended to strengthen the position he said he had manifested from the start. “I don’t need to support the person who did this to me against my will, without respecting me, at a historic moment for me and for women’s sport in this country. Zero tolerance for this behavior,” emphasized the footballer who thanked the “message of support and words of encouragement received”.
Source: DN
