Several of the Spain players on strike from playing for the women’s national team had not been told they were going to be called up for their upcoming Nations League fixtures this month.
Spain’s head coach Montse Tome has selected most of the 23 players who won the Women’s World Cup in her first squad, with matches against Sweden and Switzerland to come this month.
Fifteen of the World Cup players have retained their places. Jenni Hermoso, Ivana Andres, Irene Guerrero, Laia Codina, Alba Redondo, Salma Paralluelo, Rocio Galvez and Claudia Zornoza have not been selected.
On Friday, 39 players – which included 21 out of the 23 World Cup-winning side – said they wanted further changes at the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), confirming that the resignation of former president Luis Rubiales, and the sacking of Jorge Vilda as head coach did not suffice to persuade them to rejoin the team.
Sources close to several of the striking players, who asked to speak anonymously to protect relationships, told The Athletic they had not been informed they were going to be called up. They said the players remained committed to the joint statement they published on Friday.
These same sources also said that at a meeting with the Spanish Football Federation leadership on Friday, the striking players were asked to return to the team now on the understanding that in a month’s time “some of what they have asked for” will be done. The sources said the players decided not to do this, because they still don’t trust the RFEF.
In August, members of the women’s team said that they would reject call-ups to the national team until the leadership of the RFEF is changed following the actions of Rubiales at the World Cup final.
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Rubiales kissed Spain forward Hermoso on the lips during the medal ceremony at Stadium Australia after Spain’s victory over England. He has since resigned from his position following public reaction to the incident.
A letter signed by 81 players, including the entire World Cup-winning squad, described the actions of Rubiales as “violating the dignity of women”.
Tome said that she has “full confidence in the players” and that a “new stage” is starting from today.
Speaking at a press conference, she said: “I have spoken with the players, that is a conversation I will not reveal, they are professional things between us.
“I have full confidence in these players. It is an incredible group. Those two players were not at the World Cup, but a new stage is starting, from zero today. There is nothing behind. We are really looking forward to being able to count on these players.”
Tome, however, did not confirm why Hermoso wasn’t selected.
Earlier this month, Hermoso filed a legal complaint over the kiss from Rubiales. She said the kiss was not consensual but Rubiales has insisted it was, and has maintained that he “would continue to defend his position to tell the truth”.
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“We are with Jenni in everything, and with all the players,” Tome added. “We believe the way to help them is to be close to them and listen to them. I am the most responsible, with my staff, and we believe the best way to protect her in this squad is this way. We count on Jenni, I have worked with her for five years, we also faced each other when I was a player.”
Spain’s women’s team has had several disagreements in the past with the RFEF. Last year, 15 players sent emails confirming they did not wish to be selected until changes were made in the national team setup. The changes they were calling for related to both on-field and off-field issues. All members of ‘Las 15’ signed the statement in August, including the 12 players who were not recalled for the World Cup.
Earlier on Monday, The RFEF released a statement declaring a “public commitment” to make “structural changes” in the federation. They had urged the players to come forward and join in on the changes being made.
Pressed on whether something had changed to ensure the players would return to the federation, Tome said: “We are all clear this has been a special situation, and everything produced these days has been something exceptional. The federation has worked to be able to speak to the players. We have listened to them. We are all part of this, and must have good communication. From today we are starting out on the Nations League, and very excited about this competition.”
Spain face Sweden on September 22 and play Switzerland four days later.
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The key questions from Tome’s press conference
_Analysis by Dermot Corrigan _
Will the players come back?
That was the big question which was really left unanswered by Tome’s half an hour of dodging questions and giving careful answers which had been crafted in advance. There was lots of “confidence” that the players would return, and praise for their “professionalism” and assertions that it was now a “new era” with a “more professional work climate”.
“They are world champions and I know they will be here with us (in camp) tomorrow,” was the strongest assertion. This looked like the federation very firmly pushing the ball back into the players’ court.
“We do it so that the next generations can have a much more egalitarian football and at the height of what we all deserve,” said the players in Friday’s statement saying they would not be joining the squad for these games. That looked like the world champions digging in for a very principled stand, knowing that it might harm their own careers, but in the belief that they could force through a much better tomorrow for the players who came after them.
Not very much appears to have changed since then. Even after three days of negotiations behind the scenes, it was Monday lunchtime before there was even confirmation that Tome was going to actually announce the list. The federation then released a very weak statement declaring that “structural changes” the players required were already being rolled out. But the players have already said that Rubiales and Vilda’s departures are not enough for them, and there is no evidence yet of any deep reforms taking place or even being planned.
Tome said she had spoken with many players during the last days, but she would not reveal any details of what were private conversations. Many of those she named among the 23 did not know they were going to be included.
An indication of the general feeling among players at Spanish clubs came from Hermoso’s former Atletico Madrid teammate Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic.
This is insane… how can you threaten your own player like this…😳
call them to the national team, when they said they want clear changes before they come back!this is soooo disrespectful…
clearly they don’t care… and they dont allow them to make their own decision 😔— Ana Crnogorcevic (@AnaCrnogorcevic) September 18, 2023
Why is Hermoso not on the list?
Tome was asked outright why Hermoso was not on the list, and whether she was injured. The answer was not very clear at all, but appeared to be that the new coach believed the best way to “protect” someone she knows really well was to not bring her into this particular squad.
“We are with Jenni in everything, and with all the players,” Tome said. “We believe this is the best way to protect her with this squad. We count on Jenni, I have worked with her for five years, we also faced each other as opponents when I was a player.”
Hermoso is one of eight players who were at the World Cup who are not in the squad for this week’s games. Tome’s list also had five of the 15 players who boycotted the World Cup due to their long-standing issues with how women’s football was treated by the federation (Mapi Leon, Amaiur Sarriegi, Laia Aleixandri, Patri Guijarro and Lucia Garcia).
Tome claimed, in a convoluted way, that she had only used sporting criteria in picking the squad, and that she believed these were the best 23 players available for the upcoming games. The door was not closed for any of those players who are not on the list, Hermoso included, so the suggestion was that nobody was being excluded from a call-up by the federation.
Could this end the drama and conflict around the Spanish women’s team?
Almost certainly not. Tome was speaking in the Sala Luis Aragones room at the federation HQ, where men’s and women’s national team coaches are always presented, but whose doors were most recently opened for Rubiales’ now infamous ‘fake feminists’ speech. Now its next public event was the presentation of Tome and her coaching staff, who all joined her on the podium. Some had broad smiles, others more nervous looks, as they got handshakes from Rocha.
Tome was one of those who applauded her then boss that (now infamous) day, something which Hermoso and her teammates were hurt by. During her presentation, she attempted to clarify that she had been “told to attend” and then only applauded twice – once of which was Rubiales publicly promoting her to a new technical director role. She said that, on reflection afterwards, she had been sorry and had issued the statement in which she offered to resign.
But she is still working at the federation, as are many of those who were in senior positions during the years before the World Cup when the players were fighting for more support and respect, and also in the days after Sydney when Rubiales and his allies were bitterly attacking Hermoso and her teammates.
Ana Alvarez and Rafa del Amo, two senior federation figures through Rubiales’ term as president, were present in the room, sat alongside Rocha in the front room. Senior figures in marketing and communication roles who were involved in Hermoso feeling, in her words, “totally unprotected and undefended” after the World Cup are also still in their jobs.
Tome said that such issues were above her job-title, and she could only just focus on putting together her coaching staff, choosing a squad, and preparing the players for their upcoming games. “I have enough with my own job,” she said. Again, this did not seem like the support for wholesale changes that Spain’s players have consistently called for these weeks, and years.
Spain squad in full
Goalkeepers: Misa Rodriguez (Real Madrid), Enith Salon (Valencia), Cata Coll (Barcelona)
Defenders: Ona Batlle (Barcelona), Olga Carmona (Real Madrid), Maria Mendez (Levante), Irene Paredes (Barcelona), Laia Aleixandri (Manchester City), Oihane Hernandez (Real Madrid), Maria Leon (Barcelona)
Midfielders: Patri Guijarro (Barcelona), Teresa Abelleira (Real Madrid), Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Maria Perez (Sevilla), Rosa Marquez (Real Betis)
Forwards: Athenea del Castillo (Real Madrid), Inma Gabarro (Sevilla), Esther Gonzalez (Gotham FC), Mariona Caldentey (Barcelona), Eva Navarro (Atletico Madrid), Lucia Garcia (Manchester United), Amaiur Sarriegi (Real Sociedad)
(Photo: Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
