Izuchukwu OkosiSpain’s Women’s World Cup winning captain Jenni Hermoso has been named in Spain’s squad for the first time since Luis Rubiales kissed her on the lips during the World Cup trophy presentation on August 20.
The kiss that shock Spanish and global football landscape, which forward Hermoso says was not consensual, sparked outcry and Rubiales eventually resigned as Spanish football federation (RFEF) president.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelRubiales, whose actions overshadowed Spain’s World Cup win after defeating England, was also given a restraining order.
Spain will face Italy and Switzerland in the Nations League later this month.
Their World Cup-winning manager Jorge Vilda was sacked in September and is being investigated as part of the criminal case against Rubiales, and has since been appointed manager of the Morocco women’s team.
Rubiales was banned from going within 200 metres of Hermoso after she filed a legal complaint.
At a court case in Madrid, the former federation president has denied sexually assaulting and coercing Hermoso.
When new head coach Montse Tome named a squad for the Nations League fixtures in September it included 15 members of the World Cup-winning side, but Hermoso was left out, with Tome saying it was “to protect her”.
After the squad for Spain’s Nations League matches on 27 and 31 October was announced on Wednesday (October 18), Tome told a news conference she had explained to Hermoso why she was omitted from the previous squad.
“After the camp we got in touch. Maybe that opened the door to speculation, but at the time there was no problem with her. We didn’t call her up because we thought it was the best thing for her,” Tome said.
“I have noticed her improvement. We are excited to see her, for her to return to training and to start thinking about the future as our goal is to be in the Olympic Games.”
The Spanish players threatened a boycott of last month’s friendly against Sweden – their first match since the World Cup final – but called it off after reaching an agreement with the RFEF, which said it had committed to “immediate and profound changes”.
Instead, the players of both the Sweden and Spain teams stood together holding a banner reading “se acabo” which translates to English as “it’s over” and wore wristbands bearing the same phrase.
A week later, at their first home match since the World Cup, they stood alongside the Switzerland players with the same banner.
Tome said “changes have been made” within the RFEF and that the relationship between the staff and players is “good and professional”.
Hermoso, who has made 101 appearances for Spain and scored 51 goals, returned to her domestic team, Pachuca in Mexico, in September and her statement to prosecutors in court in Madrid last month has since been made public.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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