England lost to Spain in the World Cup final in Sydney in August
England forward Rachel Daly says the turbulence with the Spanish national team is “heartbreaking” and shows how far women’s football still has to go.
Spain’s players announced a boycott after the football federation’s former president Luis Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso after their World Cup triumph.
However, some of the players arrived for international duty on Tuesday.
“It’s a really sad time to watch players and colleagues go through that,” said Daly.
Unrest continues within the national team following Rubiales’ resignation and the majority of the World Cup-winning squad said they would continue to boycott the national team until further changes are made.
But, the Spanish team are set to train in Valencia before their Nations League match against Sweden on Thursday.
Six players living in Madrid arrived at a hotel in the capital city with one reporter asking goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez if she was happy to be in the squad, to which she responded “no”.
England’s Daly, 31, said it is “awful” to hear that someone doesn’t want to be there.
“It’s the biggest honour in the women’s game to put on an England shirt, play for your country and represent country as a whole, it’s heart breaking to hear,” she added.
“To play for your country is one of the most proud moments you can have - it’s such a shame to hear someone is going through that.
“It just shows how far we’ve got to go with women’s football in the world. It shows what we continue to push and fight for each day, to try and be role models.
“It’s an unfortunate situation, every single female player stands with them and hopefully gets resolved and we don’t have to go through that anymore.”
England, who lost to Spain in the World Cup final last month, have faced their own issues with the Football Association over recognition for former players and disputes over pay.
Most recently, the Lionesses in the World Cup squad expressed frustrations with the FA over its stance on performance-related bonuses, with some nations receiving bonuses from their country.
England did not stand to receive any bonuses but Daly said there is a “great team” in place to continue to fight their case after they opted to pause the dispute for this summer’s World Cup.
“We’re in a positive place, we all want the same thing and want to come to the same agreement,” said Daly.
“The leadership group for the players are fantastic and we hope to get it resolved.”
Scotland, who England face in their Nations League match on Friday in Sunderland, withdrew their inequality case against the Scottish Football Association last week.
Led by captain Rachel Corsie, the case accused the governing body of not treating women fairly on pay and conditions, but a statement from the SFA said the matter had been resolved without the need for legal proceedings.
“Trust and open honest conversations with federations is something that is massive in terms of growing the women’s game,” said Daly.
“We’re always trying to strive for what is better and what is right for us, but also for future generations.”
Watch: Rubiales’s day in court over World Cup kiss… in 86 seconds
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