The situation in Spain with Luis Rubiales is hard to explain to an international audience because this is something historical and cultural in our country. In the 1970s women couldn’t play sport and that was the mentality we had in this country. From then until now, has a lot changed? Yes, but not as much as it should have because there are still a lot of people who have a sexist mindset.
Within sport, specifically football in this case, there are still a lot of sexist people. Most of the leaders within Spanish football are men and they are men from a certain generation with defined mindsets. What people outside Spain need to understand is that this problem goes much deeper. We are talking about a football federation but could be talking about any other federation or any other company.
What happened with Rubiales and Jenni Hermoso has had so much attention because it’s around football, around a World Cup final and with an indisputable action. It has gone global because of how it happened, the moment it happened and the importance it has had. But what if this hadn’t happened, if Rubiales hadn’t kissed Hermoso? We would be talking about how Rubiales is the best football federation president in the world, that Jorge Vilda is the best manager in Europe and the world and everything would continue as normal. We have hit a threshold and are at war to get change.
How did Spain win the World Cup under these circumstances? In Spain, we’ve always had talent. That talent couldn’t shine before, but now it does because clubs are more professional, the players are more professional, conditions are improved and that at least allows you to compete evenly. Before we couldn’t and now we can.
We have a generation of fantastic footballers. It is not only those 23 players who were at the World Cup but those who stayed home and others who have never been called up. In the past few years, proper infrastructure has been facilitated and the players arrived at the World Cup able to compete. All those talents that are being formed at clubs are at an elite level, independently of who is the manager of the national team. Imagine if things had been done correctly and if we had had adequate leaders a long time ago. We would have been world champions 10 or 15 years earlier.
The problem is not the steps that need to be taken, it’s the ones that are going to be taken. I would like to see things done in a certain way, but I don’t know whether it’s possible or if whoever has the power will do them. But the message from Spanish society is clear. Now it’s the turn of the government, politicians, and corresponding organisations to act. It’s external people that must decide what will happen now and how will we change this.
The footballers and Spanish society have already said what the problem is, we have all seen it and there are no more secrets. People who are in certain positions cannot say: “I didn’t know about it.” Now everyone knows about it. The situation depends on those people who are there to work on doing things the right way. Are they going to remove Rubiales and put someone else similar in? Or will they carry out a structural reform, which is what should be done.
The problem is not if Rubiales leaves or is fired – it is deeper than that. It’s something that we’ve been living and suffering for a long time. It was already the case when I played and it’s still the case with Rubiales, but it’s also all the people who work at the federation.
We saw it in the 30 minutes he spoke last week, where most people were applauding, smiling and positioning themselves in his favour. What we witnessed publicly is what some of us have seen and said privately over many years – well, since for ever really.
When Rubiales spoke in that press conference and said what he did, it seemed surreal. It was embarrassing and shameful. In that moment he allowed the frustration and deception to turn into anger. That is where all the reactions are coming from and that’s when we said, “that’s it, it’s over”.
Veró Boquete won 62 caps for Spain but was not picked again after the 2015 player revolt against the federation. She plays for Fiorentina in Serie A. She was talking to Alex Ibaceta.
