39 Spanish players to continue national-team boycott despite Luis Rubiales resignation and Jorge Vilda sacking

Thirty-nine female Spanish footballers - including 21 of the 23 members of Spain’s Women’s World Cup winning squad - have said they will continue their national-team boycott until further structural changes are made within the country’s football federation.

On Friday the 39 players released a joint statement saying they would not play for Spain until the RFEF is restructured and its temporary president – Pedro Rocha - steps down.

The players are also calling for a different organisation for women’s football in the country, a new media department and new thinking about the integrity department.

Real Madrid Feminino duo Claudia Zornoza and Athenea del Castillo are the only two members of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad who are not continuing the boycott.

New Spain boss Montse Tome – the national team’s first female manager - had been due to announce her squad on Friday for upcoming Nations League matches, the outcome of which could determine Spain’s participation at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Last month more than 80 players declared that they would not play for Spain in the wake of the Luis Rubiales scandal.

Rubiales - at the time president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) - caused uproar when he kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy presentation following Spain’s defeat of England in the World Cup final.

Hermoso said that the kiss was not consensual and that she and her family were pressured to publicly excuse Rubiales’ actions.

Rubiales resigned from his position earlier this week, five days after Spain manager and close ally Jorge Vilda was sacked.

FIFA issued Rubiales with a temporary 90-day suspension, and the national court in Madrid is now considering a criminal complaint of sexual assault and coercion.

On Friday, Rubiales was issued with a restraining order, meaning that he cannot go within 200 metres of Hermoso.

Spanish players went on strike this time last year, with 15 members of the Euro 2022 squad refusing to play under Vilda. Three of ‘Las 15’ returned to play at the World Cup.

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