Spain’s head coach Montse Tome has invited players who are on national team strike to the Nations League. Players believe it’s all about financial and legal intimidation.
Henri Kaukonen,
STT Sports
Jennifer Hermoso was left out of Spain’s national soccer team, which plays in the Nations League this week.
Hermoso, caught in the middle of the Spanish women’s national football team’s kissing scandal, took to social media to take a stand on the new head coach Montse Tomen to the decision to invite players on national team strike to the Nations League. Tome justified not inviting Hermoso with the protection of the player. Hermoso criticized the way the country’s football association handled the issue.
Tome selected several women’s national team players who went on strike for the Nations League matches at the end of September, and Hermoso doesn’t understand this. At the same time, the player accuses the Spanish Football Association of intimidation and threats. He considers the union’s actions contradictory.
– The environment is said to be safe for my colleagues, but at the same time they leave me uninvited to protect me, Hermoso writes on the messaging service X, formerly Twitter.
Tome chose, among other things, a star player Alexia Putellas and 14 other world champions to the team. The head coach claimed on Monday that he had discussed the recent national team selections beforehand with the players.
– I trust that these players are professionals. They have just become world champions, they love the national team and I know they will be here (in the team) tomorrow, Tome said under the Nations League.
Hermoso believes that national team invitations are about the use of power.
– The players are sure that this is yet another means of division and manipulation, which is used to intimidate and threaten us with legal and financial consequences, Hermoso, who represents Pachuca in Mexico at the club team level, wrote.
This is how the kissing frenzy has progressed
In August, Spain won the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but instead of the country’s first women’s World Cup and championship hype, the discussion has been dominated by the president of the Spanish Football Association By Luis Rubiales behavior. He forcibly kissed Hermoso on the mouth during the award ceremony.
After the incident, numerous players expressed their support for Hermoso and refused to represent the Spanish national team. On Friday, 39 players announced that the situation is not such that they can return to the national team.
The striking players have demanded changes to the working culture of the Spanish Football Association. Head coach of the World Cup gold team Jorge Vilda was fired from his position at the beginning of September, and finally Rubiales also left his position as president of the union.
Spain will face Sweden on September 22 and Switzerland on September 26 in the Women’s Nations League.