Rubiales affair: Hermoso and Paredes absent against Les Bleues because of a Netflix documentary?

Is this the start of a new controversy in Spanish women’s Football? During a press conference this Tuesday, Spanish coach Montserrat Tomé announced that she had decided not to call up Irene Paredes, Misa Rodriguez and Jenni Hermoso in the La Roja group, which will face South Korea in friendly matches. South on November 29 and France on December 3.

An extra-sporting choice, since the decision would be linked to the fact that the three players testified in a documentary broadcast on the Netflix platform dedicated to the Rubiales affair. The former president of the Spanish Football Federation had forcibly kissed Hermoso during the victory celebrations at the 2023 World Cup. Which, according to the Spanish press, would have cost the two La Roja executives their place in the group.

“We have been in an exceptional situation for two years, and when we started, we were very clear on what we wanted to be as a team,” Montserrat Tomé said at a press conference to justify the absence of the players.

“I don’t want to say that these players weren’t up to par, but I’m clear on what I want the team to be and what I like to see, this team spirit, this know-how. to do” specified the one who was the assistant to Jorge Vilda, the coach who was highly contested for his methods, during the 2023 World Cup. Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati, former and current holders of the Women’s Ballon d’Or, who also testify in the documentary Netflix, for their part, appear in Tomé’s list.

After La Roja’s world title, Luis Rubiales, then president of the Spanish Football Federation, forcibly kissed Hermoso during the medal ceremony, causing a wave of indignation throughout the world. Under pressure, he was forced to resign, was suspended for three years from all football-related activities by Fifa, and will be tried for sexual assault at the beginning of 2025.

Victorious in the last Nations League, semi-finalists at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Spanish must face South Korea on November 29 in Cartagena before Laurent Bonadei’s France on December 3 in Nice.