Jennifer Hermoso has not been named in Spain\u2019s 23-woman squad to face Sweden and Switzerland in its upcoming matches, but 20 players who signed a letter refusing to play the two fixtures have been included. <\/p>\n
Last week, the majority of Spain\u2019s World Cup-winning squad refused to be called up for the Women\u2019s Nations League matches as players continue to push for \u201creal structural changes\u201d in Spanish soccer, following the fallout from ex-soccer boss Luis Rubiales\u2019 unwanted kiss on La Roja<\/em> star Hermoso. <\/p>\n Spain was due to announce a squad for its next two matches on Friday but postponed the decision after 39 players, including 21 of the 23-woman World Cup squad, signed a joint letter condemning the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). <\/p>\n However, Montse Tom\u00e9 \u2013 who replaced controversial coach Jorge Vilda after the tournament \u2013 named 20 players who had signed the letter in her latest squad, which was announced on Monday. <\/p>\n \u201cI think what we\u2019re all clear on is that we lived a special situation and everything that\u2019s happened these days, well, has been exceptional,\u201d Tom\u00e9 said when asked by reporters what had happened between Friday and now for her to include those 20 players who had signed the joint letter. <\/p>\n \u201cThe federation has worked to be able to talk to the players. I\u2019ve also worked with them. We\u2019ve listened to them, we thought that we all were a part of this group, and the way is having good communication.\u201d <\/p>\n When asked to explain Hermoso\u2019s absence, Tom\u00e9 said she wanted to protect the star but left open the possibility of her returning to the squad in the future. <\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, I want to say that we\u2019re with Jenni in everything and with all the players,\u201d added Tom\u00e9, who was reticent to talk in detail about conversations she had had with players. <\/p>\n \u201cWe think that the way to help them is be close to them and listen to them. As the person in charge, as well as my staff, we concluded that the best way to protect her in this call-up is this way.\u201d <\/p>\n Spain is due to play Sweden and Switzerland on September 22 and 26 respectively. <\/p>\n Tom\u00e9 said she was confident that all those named in the squad \u2013 including two players who didn\u2019t feature at the World Cup, Mapi Le\u00f3n and Patricia Guijarro, and were involved in a previous dispute with the federation \u2013 will be totally committed. Tom\u00e9 said that the new squad is due to meet up on Tuesday. <\/p>\n \u201cI think, on a professional level, we are surrounded by incredible group of players,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u201cYou talk to me about these two players in particular who weren\u2019t at the World Cup. But as I said, we\u2019re starting a new era.\u201d <\/p>\n In the aftermath of the La Roja\u2019s <\/em>World Cup victory, Tom\u00e9 was seen briefly clapping alongside other RFEF members during a speech made by Rubiales when he initially announced he would not step down from his role. <\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is I didn\u2019t feel good that day,\u201d said Tom\u00e9 when asked by a reporter why she applauded Rubiales\u2019 defiant speech. <\/p>\n \u201cIf I think a bit and ask, \u2018Why did I do it?\u2019 well, maybe, I wouldn\u2019t have done it again. But I feel that in that moment, with the big crowd, I clapped and that\u2019s why it happened.\u201d <\/p>\n The dissatisfaction felt by Spanish players dates back over a year, when 15 members of the senior women\u2019s squad sent personally signed letters to RFEF via email to announce they would no longer play for the national team unless there were wholesale changes made throughout the coaching staff. <\/p>\n Of the 15 players who signed the letters, only three were in Spain\u2019s World Cup squad: Mariona Caldentey, Aitana Bonmat\u00ed and Ona Batlle. <\/strong>That trio were included in Tom\u00e9\u2019s squad that was announced on Monday. <\/p>\n Despite those off-field struggles, a young Spanish side produced a magical World Cup run to defy the odds and clinch a memorable title in Australia and New Zealand. <\/p>\n The achievement was subsequently overshadowed by Rubiales\u2019 actions during the medal ceremony. <\/p>\n However, now that Vilda and Rubiales have left their positions, RFEF hopes to kick-start a new chapter in women\u2019s soccer. <\/p>\n Earlier on Monday, it released a statement underlining its commitment to enforce changes in the organization. <\/p>\n \u201cIts absolutely necessary, to realize these changes, to clarify each of the behaviors and conducts which may have occurred and act, as such, with professionalism and justice, settling the relevant responsibilities in each case,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s evident that the Federation, society and the very players are aligned with this same objective: the renewal and beginning of a new era where football is the great winner of all of this process.\u201d <\/p>\n On Friday, Rubiales testified in Spain\u2019s National Court after being summoned by the presiding judge to aid in the court\u2019s investigation into potential charges of sexual assault and coercion against him. <\/p>\n The Spanish Prosecutor\u2019s office said Rubiales answered questions from the judge and all parties and denied the charges. <\/p>\n Later on Friday, the judge gave Rubiales a restraining order, preventing him from going within 200 meters of Hermoso, and ordered him not to communicate with her during the court\u2019s investigation. <\/p>\n \u201cThe whole world could see it was not consensual. That\u2019s what we\u2019ll show,\u201d Hermoso\u2019s lawyer Carla Vall said after leaving the National Court in the capital of Madrid. <\/p>\n\n Jennifer Hermoso has not been named in Spain\u2019s 23-woman squad to face Sweden and Switzerland in its upcoming matches, but 20 players who signed a letter refusing to play the two fixtures have been included. Last week, the majority of Spain\u2019s World Cup-winning squad refused to be called up for the Women\u2019s Nations League matches <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":8788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8787","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} \u2018A new era\u2019<\/h2>\n
How we got here<\/h2>\n