Indifference and vitriol directed at footballer Jenni Hermoso is a snapshot of the sexism still prevalent in our society

Indifference and vitriol directed at footballer Jenni Hermoso is a snapshot of the sexism still prevalent in our society
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Indifference and vitriol directed at footballer Jenni Hermoso is a snapshot of the sexism still prevalent in our society
Author: mirrornews@mirror.co.uk (Darren Lewis)
Published: Feb, 06 2025 17:46

It is no surprise to hear people metaphorically rolling their eyes on the radio and the debates around whether what Luis Rubiales did was really that bad. The Spanish football federation’s former president is the man who planted an unsolicited kiss on lips of one of the national team’s players, Jenni Hermoso, after they’d won 2023 World Cup. Rubiales initially described the encounter as a “consensual peck”. She says it was not.

He resigned from his post after a considerable backlash and now the whole thing is being heard in court in Spain. Hermoso’s teammates have this week corroborated her account of being distraught and angered. Rubiales - who has yet to testify - and others are also alleged to have tried to pressure Jenni into publicly agreeing with his position. He has denies all the charges.. Now - don’t get carried away with the idea that Rubiales could end up in jail for two and a half years - which is what the Spanish prosecutors are looking for.

What the people looking to whip you up into a frenzy are not telling you is that in Spain, people handed sentences under two years can usually escape prison by paying damages if they don’t have any prior convictions. But, just to widen the whole thing, I’ll be real with you: my daughter plays for quite a good girls’ football team. If they were to win something and her coach, chairman or any other man in a position of power was to take it upon himself to give her an unsolicited kiss, I’d have to kiss goodbye to my mild-mannered persona. I think most of us would.

And there comes a point where it stops being about the individuals at the centre of this and speaks to the women’s boundaries constantly being breached in our society. Even Rubiales must know that. There’s nothing to suggest that his actual intent in that moment was malign. Nobody can know what was in his mind. But that’s not the point. The entitlement of any person to believe they can invade a woman’s personal space in that way is what needs to be addressed. In football and in our society.

And please, spare me those ludicrous ‘male players do it all the time’ takes. Or those ‘I’m a woman and I get randomly kissed by male friends when our team scores all the time. I don’t mind.’. That’s you. Not her. And if you’re comfortable with that - great. But there are many, many women who are not. Nor is this an incident involving two players, either. It is a senior figure and a subordinate.

And in the same way that she found herself physically unable to move away, with the hands of Rubiales cupping her head to pull her closer to him - watch the footage for yourself - so lots of women and teenage girls find themselves in similar situations in the workplace, with nowhere to go. Its about the power imbalance, the person who could so easily be my daughter or yours. Your sister or even your mum, worrying that she is making a mountain out of what many people see as a molehill.

Its about the fear that is she says something she might feel she is placing a target on her back or upsetting a happy ship. They are just some of the reasons women don’t report that kind of thing or follow through with claims of inappropriate behaviour. So well done to Jenni Hermoso for holding her nerve. Because the ‘for goodness’ sake!’ tone of some of the debates this week are telling their own story about the landscape.

Just like the platforming of the dinosaurs and even some women on those phone-ins, attacking Hermoso and accusing her of “cheapening the real fight against sexism”. Kudos to Jenni for her response to the social media sewer rats berating her for actually smiling and joking - shock, horror! - on the plane after the incident. "I don't have to be crying or sitting in the back seat to make it clear that I didn't like it,” she said.

And a lot of people adjudicating on this kind of thing would do well to bear that in mind. In more than 25 years in sports journalism I’ve spoken to any number of footballers, male and female, who have told me about the times they’ve put their shoulders back and plastered on a smile after situations that have left them embarrassed, angry or humiliated. And that’s quite key because Sport - just like our wider society - talks a really, really good game when it comes to fighting sexism and intimidation. But the vilification of Jenni Hermoso is yet another reminder of the actual realities.

Its another line in the sand that has to be drawn and a conversation that has to be had - whether it is over a kiss on the lips, a pat on the bum or a even a remark that crosses the line. Because it is simply remarkable that there remain so many people who still don’t understand what the fuss is all about. As my other, older daughter replied as I put the whole thing to her: ‘I can’t even believe this is a debate’.

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