Circus Spanish Football Federation

Few people around the world knew who Luis Rubiales was. But the head of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has become a world celebrity following his embarrassing behaviour at the World Cup final, grabbing his crotch and kissing one of the Spanish players, Jenni Hermoso. He has in a rather pathetic apology defended himself with being euphoric at the moment, but at the same time said that he will not step down from his lucrative position as head of the RFEF. This he categorically said in a speech to the RFEF, and was widely clapped by the many machos of the RFEF, such as the Spanish national team manager Jorge Vilda and Luis de la Fuente.

In the meantime player Jenni Hermoso has said that the kiss was not consensual, and been attacked in an official communique by the RFEF. In support, many players, including the entire team of World Champions, has said that they will boycott the national team until the leadership steps down. Rubiales has been suspended by FIFA and has been widely denounced both nationally and internationally.

This is a sad circus. Spain are World Champions and attention goes to these men who live in a previous century. Because let us admit that there are still many men like Rubiales in the world and in particular in the world of football. Men of power who believe they can do anything and behave in any way they want. This is mainly because they have normally been allowed to abuse and misuse. 

If anything good comes out of this circus it is perhaps that the obviousness of men like Rubiales comes to light.

Misogyny is alive and thriving

I recently heard that the best footballer in the world, Ada Hegerberg, has decided not to play in this year's World Cup for her country, Norway, because of what she describes as a lack of respect for women's football in Norway.
How is this not bigger news?
If any of the world's biggest players decided not to go to a World Cup for discrimination in the game, would it not lead to changes in the way the game is managed??? But not in football!
Remember that Ms. Hegerberg is from Norway, a country where women have a higher degree of equality than in other countries. So just think about some of the other countries, where outright discrimination is more or less taken for granted: Colombia, where the football association does not even take care of their female national team; the World Champions of USA, who are grossly underpaid by their male counterparts (who did not even make it to the World Cup); Afghanistan, where players were routinely abused.... And these are just the cases we know about...
Football has long traditions of discrimination for reasons of race, nationality, political allegiance, sexual orientation, and not least gender, where women's football was even prohibited until not long ago, and misogynistic comments are so common as to be institutionalized in the entire game (remember how it was ok to ask Ms, Hegerberg to twerk after winning the Balon d'Or!?). And despite advances over the last decade, all these things show that misogyny is not only alive, but even thrives as male chauvinism reacts against women footballers demand their rightful place alongside men in the world of football. The fact that Ms. Hegerberg has decided to fight against this by not going to the World Cup should send a strong message to the world of football: stop discriminating against the best because of their gender!
The World Cup will be weaker without Ada Hegerberg, but I hope her message resonates in a world of football where discrimination, in all its forms, is the norm, and the football world does so little to combat.