Footballer Jenni Hermoso accused the Spanish federation of “intimidating and threatening” world champion players by summoning them against their will for two Nations League matches.
Friday, 15 of the 23 Spanish world champions announced that they did not want to return to the selection, demanding a total overhaul of the Spanish football authorities, after the forced kiss of the former president of the Federation, Luis Rubiales, imposed on the N. 10 Jenni Hermoso.
But they were still called up on Monday for the next League of Nations matches by the new coach Montse Tomé, who however left Jenni Hermoso aside to “protect” her.
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The player, who currently plays for Mexican club Pachuca, expressed her support for her teammates.
“The players are very clear that this is another divisive and manipulative strategy to intimidate us and threaten us with legal repercussions and economic sanctions,” she said in a released statement. on X.
Reacting to the coach’s comments, Hermoso asked: “Protect me from what, or who?”, stressing that the same people who seek confidence in the Federation “are publishing today a list of players who have asked not to be summoned”.
The forced kiss scandal caused a tidal wave within the Federation which led to the resignation of Rubiales and the dismissal of coach Jorge Vilda, replaced by his number two.
Monday evening, the majority of Spanish internationals, on strike, reaffirmed a few hours after the announcement of the first list of Montse Tomé, their “desire not to be summoned”, believing that the Federation was “not able to ‘require their presence’.
“I would like to express all my support to my teammates who, today, were surprised and forced to react to a new unfortunate situation caused by the people who continue to make decisions within the Federation today,” said declared Hermoso again.
The players are summoned to Madrid on Tuesday and, if they do not appear, they risk heavy fines and two to fifteen years of suspension of their license from the federation.