Essay: Spanish World Cup

Created: October 6, 2023

On August 20th, 2023, the Women’s Spanish Soccer Team defeated England 1-0 to claim their first World Cup title in team history. What was supposed to be a completely positive, celebratory moment, would soon be remembered for the incident that happened during the celebration. While embracing the Spanish players with hugs and kisses on the cheek (which was already slightly off putting), head coach Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso right on the lips, without consent, on national television, for millions to see. What made matters worse was how Rubiales refused to hold himself accountable for his actions, he also disrespected the female fans, and even insinuated that Hermoso was to blame for the act. Many viewers and media outlets abused concepts such as gender, race, and even culture in attempts to support Rubiales’ actions, but there was nothing appropriate about what he did and how he handled the situation afterwards.

After receiving an immense amount of backlash for inappropriately kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips, Luis Rubiales released an initial apology the following day. However, in that same week, he would deny all claims that he did anything wrong. He even went on to tell the Spanish soccer federation that “he was a victim of a hunt led by ‘false feminists’ and that the kiss was ‘mutual and with consent,’” (Stump & Wood). I feel this is what upsets people the most. Rubiales immediately tried turning the situation into “men vs. women”. It seems like he said this thinking that only the “big and powerful” men would understand and join his side in supporting him, when in reality it only dug him into a deeper hole. Spain as a country has made some big strides in the last two decades when it comes to gender and equality legislation. As Spanish college professor Máriam Martínez-Bascuñán puts it, there was a “‘generational and gender-based’ fault line, but…most Spaniards understood why the kiss was inappropriate, and those who did not understand ‘were not the majority at all,’” (Chaundler & Horowitz).  I can’t help thinking that if the roles were reversed, would there be the same amount of outrage? It’s great to see that most of the public agrees that what happened was wrong, but there are some people that believe a woman cannot sexually assault a man. In some weird, twisted way, this way of thinking supports the theory of hegemonic masculinity. The idea that men are so dominant, nothing or no one could ever take their masculinity away from them.

In Latin/Hispanic culture, there is a term widely used to describe strong or aggressive masculine pride known as “machismo”. Some people have blamed the Luis Rubiales incident on the Spanish culture, leaning to this word as a basis for the argument. A Spanish resident downplays the incident by saying, “It’s like a kiss I could have given to a friend,” and that it “was just a gesture of affection,” (Chaundler & Horowitz). It’s clear there is some blame to be placed on how citizens like these were raised, as it is common to kiss friends on the lips in Spanish culture, however times have changed and if the other person is not comfortable with it or has not consented to it, then that is assault, plain and simple.

Spain’s sports minister has called this Spain’s #MeToo moment of soccer, as “all 23 members of the Spanish women’s team are refusing to play unless Rubiales resigns, and the entire coaching staff except for the head coach (at the time) has quit in solidarity with Hermoso,” (Stump & Wood). I want to be sure to note that on September 5th, 2023, Luis Rubiales was officially fired as the head coach. It’s refreshing to see a country really stand up for what’s right. Especially when it comes to important political figures, organization leaders, and more. I feel that in America, it’s a lot more common for politicians to be so clearly discriminatory against their own country’s people, while still having millions of followers/supporters. It seems as if Spain as a whole has done an amazing job at creating a new foundation of leaders that will continue to push the country forward in terms of equality.

Works Cited

Chaundler , Rachel, and Jason Horowitz. “A Forced Kiss, and a Reckoning with Sexism in Spain.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/08/28/world/europe/spain-kiss-sexism-rubiales.html. 

Stump, Scott, and Becca Wood. “Spain’s Women’s Soccer Coach Fired amid Backlash of Sport’s President Kissing Player.” TODAY, 5 Sept. 2023, www.today.com/news/sports/luis-rubiales-jenni-hermoso-spanish-soccer-kiss-controversy-rcna102297.