She had never spoken in the media. This Monday, November 6, Jenni Hermoso broke the silence. Elected woman of the year 2023 by the Spanish edition of the prestigious American magazine GQ, the Spanish world champion returned for the first time to the forced kiss of Luis Rubiales during the ceremony after the final on August 20. She says she has received threats, and now wants to change things in women’s sport.
“I want to be remembered as a person who wanted to take Spain to the top, but above all as a person who tried to change mentalities,” declares the one who became, despite herself, a global symbol in the fight for gender equality.
In this long interview, she returns to this “difficult” episode which she says she managed to overcome thanks to the help of a psychologist. “I had to assume the consequences of an act that I did not provoke, that I did not choose or premeditate. I even received threats, and it’s something you never get used to,” explains the 33-year-old player, who filed a complaint for “sexual assault” against Luis Rubiales.
The actions of the former president of the Spanish Football Federation, who ended up resigning after weeks of trying to justify what he presented as “a little consensual kiss”, caused an international shock wave.
The Spanish players, who went on strike to support their teammate by demanding immediate changes within their federation, received the support of many personalities from the sporting and cultural world. “With everything that’s happened, I think many of us have come to realize what the word ‘feminism’ really means. We, the footballers, have experienced the fight for equality up close,” assures Hermoso.
“We were called capricious. People said we wanted to be paid like the boys, but that wasn’t true,” she adds. The top scorer in the history of the Spanish selection says she is “very angry” at the findings which remind us that women’s football “does not generate as much income as men’s football. » “We know that and we never asked to be paid like them. We simply wanted the essentials: a minimum salary, respect and the possibility of doing something great,” summarizes the person concerned.
The playmaker from Pachuca, Mexico, who made a triumphant return to La Roja last October, says she now wants to “enjoy her sport”. Hermoso also hopes that the feminist movement #SeAcabo (“#it’s over”), born to support her, will open “a new era” for women’s sport. And “if I have to add my two cents to change things, I won’t hesitate,” she concludes.
