Spain Women's national team call-up boycott continues with a new statement released

Widad September 19, 2023 0

 

Spain Women National team

Despite earning 15 calls-ups, Spain's Women's World Cup champions will continue to abstain from national team competition.

Prior to games against Sweden and Switzerland in the Nations League, Montse Tome, the new head coach, announced her first team on Monday.

Spain's players, however, reaffirmed in a statement that they do not intend to represent their nation and stated that they will "study possible legal consequences" following their arbitrary call-up.

The statement from the players' union FUTPRO continued, "We regret again that our Federation has placed us in a situation that we would never have wished for."

It follows the backlash from Luis Rubiales' non-consensual kissing of Jenni Hermoso during the World Cup final trophy presentation, which sparked uproar and resulted in Rubiales' resignation, the firing of head coach Jorge Vilda, and a number of players going on strike.

“What is expressed in our communiqué of September 15 2023 makes clear and without any option to any other interpretation our firm will not to be called up for justified reasons. These statements remain in full force and effect,” said a player statement issued by Futpro.

“In the days following this communiqué, we would like to make it public knowledge that nothing different from this has been transmitted to any member of the RFEF [Spanish FA], therefore, we expressly request that the information publicly transmitted is rigorous.

“We, as elite professional players and after everything that has happened today, will study the possible legal consequences to which the RFEF will expose us by putting us on a list from which we had asked not to be called up, for reasons already explained publicly and in more detail to the RFEF, and with this to take the best decision for our future and for our health.

“We do think it is relevant to point out, in this regard, that the call for applications has not been in due time and form, in accordance with art. 3.2 of Annex I of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. We understand that the RFEF is not able to require us to attend it to do so.

“We regret once again that our Federation has placed us in a situation that we would never have wished for.”

Barcelona star and two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas shared the statement after being called up by Tome, who left out Hermoso.

“We believe that the best way to protect her is like this, but we are counting on Jenni,” Tome said at the squad announcement.

Press Statement