Yearender 2023: FIFA Women's World Cup, Luis Rubiales, Jenni Hermoso and the Fight for Human Decency

2023 proved to be the year the Spanish women’s football team created history as they clinched their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup and got the better of England with a lone strike from Olga Carmona in the summit clash.

The celebrations that followed were supposed to be a historic occasion for the nation with a rich sporting tradition across sports, however, a kiss from then football association president Luis Rubiales on the lips of team star Jenni Hermoso set in motion a chain of events that brought a flurry of emotions and changes in the women’s footballing environment.

During the trophy ceremony, Rubiales pulled Hermoso towards him and kissed Hermoso on the lips shocking the world before the ceremony continued.

Rubiales, who grabbed his crotch in an act of celebration while seated in the VIP section alongside Queen Letizia of Spain and 16-year-old Princess Sofia.

Hermoso voiced that she did not feel comfortable with the chief’s actions as the national players’ union called for a deep look into the incident, which succeeded in a period of turmoil and struggles in Spanish football.

In the month leading up to the tournament, a swathe of the national team players had iterated that they would not pull on the Spanish colours until concrete changes were made at the administrative level.

Rubiales had initially labelled critics as idiots defending his actions as a flurry of emotions before eventually apologising the next day.

“It was done without any ill intention in a moment of the highest exuberance. Here we saw it as natural and normal but outside it has caused a commotion,” Rubiales said.

“I have no choice but to apologise and to learn from this… and when representing the federation take more care,” he added.

The collective football fanbase who took offence at the incident staged protests against the 46-year-old, calling for the president to be sacked from his position.

On the other side of the spectrymRubiales’s mother staged a strike in support of her son as he locked herself up in the local church.

Players including star Alexia Putellas and fans threw their support behind Hermoso as the movement caught national traction and the acting Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, stated, “I think the apology Mr Rubiales has given wasn’t sufficient, I’d say it wasn’t adequate, and Mr Rubiales should keep taking further step”.

“The RFEF isn’t a part of the Spanish government,” she added distancing the football federation from the monarchy.

Hermoso went on to demand action to be taken amid the raging controversy as she said, “My union FUTPRO, in coordination with my agency TMJ, are taking care of defending my interests and has taken over as my interlocutors on this matter,”

“We are working to ensure that acts such as those we have seen never go unpunished, that they are sanctioned and that exemplary measures are adopted to protect women footballers from actions that we believe are unacceptable.”

The world football body FIFA opened an inquiry into the incident that brought disgrace to the sport.

FIFA stated that the president’s actions had violated the basic rules of decent conduct and that Rubiales had acted in a way that brought the sport of football and FIFA into disrepute.

Amid the loud calls for the registration of Rubiales, he held on to his stance of not stepping down from his post citing it might imply that his actions were indeed horrendous.

“I will not resign, I will not resign. A social assassination is taking place. I’m ready to be vilified to defend my ideals. I don’t deserve this manhunt I have been suffering,” he reiterated.

In a monumental decision, the title-winning Spanish team expressed they wouldn’t be part of the side if Rubiales remained at the helm. All 23 members of the winning unit

FIFA went on to suspend Rubiales provisionally for 90 days and ordered him to abstain from establishing contact with Hermoso while investigations were ongoing. Things heated up further as Spanish prosecutors opened a case into the incident on grounds of sexual assault for forcibly kissing Hermoso.

RFEF asked UEFA to suspend it citing interference from the government as the Spanish government sent detailed paperwork to the sporting tribunal to help the investigation. Spanish women’s team coach who led the team to the title, an aide of Rubiales, was sacked despite condemning the chief’s actions.

While one of the most shameful sagas in women’s football drew to a close Rubiales was sacked from his position in a move to assert the magnitude of the incident as the Spanish football environment and the worldwide fanbase continue to fight the moral discrepancies that plague the game on a monumental year of the European nation.