The new Spain women’s manager, Montse Tome, has said that she has omitted Jenni Hermoso from the upcoming squad in order ‘to protect her’.
Hermoso was the subject of a kiss on the lips by former RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) President Luis Rubiales in the aftermath of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final in Australia last month, which Spain won by defeating England in the final.
Hermoso said this was not a consensual kiss and the furore that followed has left Spanish football in crisis for the past few weeks with Rubiales intent on not resigning, garnering a lot of support but also a lot of criticism. Some of his supposed supporters, the men’s and women’s head coaches at the time Luis de la Fuente and Jorge Vilda, were seen applauding his refusal to quit in a General Assembly in late August.
Vilda has since been sacked as head coach, after then condemning Rubiales, whilst de la Fuente gave an apology ahead of Spain’s 7-1 defeat of Georgia in the recent international break.
Hermoso recently criticised the Spanish FA, once again, as Tome and the RFEF selected a squad that consisted of players who had said they were boycotting the national team until there is change within the organisation. Hermoso said that by selecting these players, ‘nothing has changed’ at the RFEF.
Tome selected 15 players from the FIFA Women’s World Cup winning team ahead of two UEFA Women’s Nations League matches in the next ten days against Sweden and then Switzerland.
Hermoso, formerly of Atletico Madrid, Rayo Vallecano, Tyreso, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and now at Pachuca in Mexico, earned her 100th cap for the national team in their semi-final win against Australia. She has scored 51 goals in 101 caps playing as a false nine and an attacking midfielder during her career.
