Spain players go on strike over Luis Rubiales issue

Spain's World Cup winning players have said enough is enough following a defensive speech by RFEF president Luis Rubiales this morning. 

The 23 World Cup winners and 58 other footballers and ex-players joined together to issue a joint statement, through the FUTPRO union, in which Jenni Hermoso denies consent to the kiss and in which they announce that they will not return to the national team while Luis Rubiales is present.

"Following the events that took place this morning and the perplexity of the speech made by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Mr. Luis Manuel Rubiales Béjar, the players of the senior national team, recent world champions, "in support of Jennifer Hermoso", wish to express their firm and categorical condemnation of conduct that has violated the dignity of women.

In view of the statements made by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Jennifer Hermoso wishes to categorically deny that she consented to the kiss given to her by Mr. Luis Manuel Rubiales Béjar at the World Cup Final. "I want to clarify that, as was seen in the images, at no time did I consent to the kiss he gave me and, of course, in no case did I seek to lift up the president. I do not tolerate my word being called into question and much less that they invent words that I did not say".

The Spanish national football players, World Cup winners, have 

From our union we want to stress that no woman should be forced to respond to the blunt images that everyone has seen and, of course, they should not be involved in unacceptable attitudes.

The players of the Spanish national football team, current world champions, expect strong responses from the public authorities so that actions such as those contained herein do not go unpunished.

We would like to end this communiqué by calling for real structural changes that will help the national team to continue to grow, in order to be able to pass on this great success to future generations. It fills us with sadness that such an unacceptable act is managing to tarnish the greatest sporting success of Spanish women's football.

After everything that happened during the Women's World Cup, we want to state that all the players who have signed this letter will not return to a call-up to the national team if the current management continues. The players signing this letter are: Jennifer Hermoso; Alèxia Putellas; Misa Rodríguez; Irene Paredes; Ona Batlle; Mariona Caldentey; Teresa Abelleira; María Pérez; Cata Coll; Aitana Bonmati; Laia Codina; Claudia Zornoza; Oihane Hernández; Rocío Gálvez; Irene Guerrero; Alba Redondo; Athenea del Castillo; Eva Navarro; Enith Salón; Ivana Andrés; Olga Carmona; Esther González y Salma Paralluelo; Patricia Guijarro; Lola Gallardo; Nerea Eizagirre; Ainhoa Moraza; Maria León “Mapi”; Sandra Paños; Claudia Pina; Amaiur Sarriegi; Leila Ouahabi; Laia Aleixandri; Lucia García; Andrea Pereira; Vero Boquete; Ainhoa Tirapu; Sandra Vilanova; Ana Romero “Willy”; Silvia Meseguer; Nagore Calderón; Carmen Arce “Kubalita”; Priscila Borja; Natalia Pablos; Susana Guerrero; Larraitz Lucas; Isabel Benito; Amanda Sampedro; Isabel Fuentes; Elisabet Sánchez; Mari Paz Azagra; Vanesa Gimbert; Virginia Torrecilla; Leire Landa; Elisabet Ibarra; and Marta Torrejón.