Lucy Bronze tips her hat on the Spanish players speaking out against Rubiales in the ongoing Jenni Hermoso scandal.
Lucy Bronze praises Spanish players for speaking out during Luis Rubiales trial.
On the day the former head of the Spanish football federation was found guilty of sexual assault, Lucy Bronze called the Spanish players who participated in Luis Rubiales’ trial “incredibly brave” and said that England players supported them in their struggle for reform.
Bronze, a teammate of several of the players who took part in the trial during her time at Barcelona, spoke just prior to the judgement and before England’s Nations League matches against Portugal on Friday and Spain on Wednesday.
“I am good friends with a lot of the players involved around it. From my point of view, knowing them, it’s been incredible that these players have had to go through that.
“Not only winning the World Cup and handling the media on the outside of it, but they were in the court case and speaking out. It’s incredibly brave of all the individuals and the team collectively.”
Following Spain’s World Cup final loss to England, Rubiales was found guilty on Thursday of kissing striker Jenni Hermoso without getting her permission. The court also sentenced Rubiales to pay a fine of almost €10,000. After being charged with forcing Hermoso to claim the kiss was consensual, the 47-year-old was found not guilty of coercion.
“They are fighting for change not just in that court case but in their federation,” said Bronze. “As an England team we have made changes in our team, not for the same reasons. As we watch on, we stand by the Spanish players, we wish them the best, we want them to get what they deserve, and we want them to just enjoy the football as well.
“I was there last season at Barcelona, and watching players go through the ordeal after the World Cup was challenging. It would be nice for them to get back to football. They are incredible people and unbelievable players as well.”
The England defender highlighted her international teammates Millie Bright and Ella Toone and commended the increasing number of athletes who are speaking up on issues that impact them both on and off the game. Toone has discussed mourning, while Bright has discussed the effects of period shame and online harassment on females’ participation in sports.
“It’s amazing,” said Bronze. “It is something we stand for in women’s sport especially. When you watch another player do it, it gives you a little something as well, that you believe that you can speak up and people are listening. Everyone is using their platform to make change and to try and be positive and to do the right things. That is something that is special about women’s sport in general. We all have each other’s backs and try to empower each other.
“Sadly, there is that negative side to sport in general, but we are trying to make change. We want the world to be a better place, the sports that we play to be better places. We want to be safe, we want to bring joy and excitement and that is why we all play the sport. To use our platforms to push those things forward and make change for little boys and girls, that is something we hold really dear to our hearts.”
Bronze added that it was important for male athletes to not be stigmatised for doing the same: “For females to stand up and to speak out stereotypically is seen as a sign of bravery and empowerment. It tends to go the other way for the male side and that’s quite sad … Anyone speaking out is a sign of bravery. To be vulnerable is a sign of bravery because it’s a hard thing to do.”