The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has banned former vice president of UEFA Luis Rubiales for three years from all football-related activities. This follows his unconsensual kiss on the lips with Jenni Hermoso during the Women’s World Cup final.
The kiss, as well as grabbing his crotch and carrying another player over his shoulder post-match, was in breach of Article 13 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
Many felt Rubiales’ actions overshadowed the progress women’s football has been making in recent years, instead of the tournament being a celebration of all the players successes.
Newcastle University women’s football. Image credit: NUWFC Instagram.
Speaking to Grace Stewart, 2nd team captain and spokesperson for Newcastle University’s Women’s Football and Futsal Club (NUWFC), “We’ve had more and more girls applying and trialling…this increase in interest has resulted from the recent success of the England lionesses and increased coverage in general.”
Furthermore, when asked about Grace and her teammates experiences of sexism and misogyny, she stated, “Yes, I’ve definitely experienced some sexism within football, and I would say most of the team at some point would’ve experienced it as well”.
In fact, a 2023 survey on women in football found that 82% of women in football have experienced discrimination in the workplace.
Uefa World Cup 2019 England squad (Credit: Ailura/Creative Commons)
When asked about the Luis Rubiales scandal and its impact on women in football, Grace stated, “The media coverage became all about the scandal and the success of the tournament, and England was overshadowed.”
Safety concerns were raised by many Spanish World Cup players due to the non-consensual kiss. Luis Rubiales has since been banned from going within 200 metres of Jenni Hermoso. Despite this, Rubiales denies the allegations and is intending to appeal his ban by FIFA.
NUWFC further commented on FIFA’s ban: “I think it was the right thing to do and was deserved. He wouldn’t have done it to the men’s team, so why to the women’s team?”.
Grace concluded, “I think the World Cup showed that technically, women’s football is good, and it is entertaining to watch, so I just think we have to wait and hopefully see continued success.”
With the rapid increase in women’s football participation and viewership, many, including NUWFC, believe the incident overshadowed the success of the tournament but has not set women’s football back. Hopefully we do not see any scandals like this again in women’s football, and any problems that women’s football may face are resolved quickly and effectively to prevent any harm to players or fans.