The actions of the Spanish football president are unworthy of his position, and of the institution and the sport he represents
The members of the MenEngage Iberia network express our revulsion at the behaviour of Mr. Luis Rubiales, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, and demand that he take responsibility for his actions.
This statement is also available in Portuguese.
Equality between women and men demands a particularly scrupulous behaviour from the representatives of the institutions, but the actions of Mr. Rubiales during and after the victory of the Spanish national team in the World Cup are unworthy of his position, and of the institution and the sport he represents.
Football is a traditionally masculine and masculinised sport, where women still suffer enormous inequalities and violence, and where collective or individual expressions of sexism, misogyny and violence against women, as well as racism and homophobia, are recurrent.
We denounce the tolerance that many men, both fans and professionals in football or journalism, continue to show towards this type of acts, and we invite them to take an explicit and unequivocal stand against sexist and abusive behaviour such as that of the president of the RFEF, and that which occurs on a regular basis in stadiums and in the world of football in general.
In addition to the dismissal of Mr. Rubiales as president of the RFEF, we demand that measures be taken to eradicate sexist and abusive behaviour in this professional federation. To this end, it is not only essential to support gender equality and a greater presence of women, but also to promote positive male role models. We trust that the next presidency of the RFEF will contribute to this transformation.
MenEngage Iberia wishes to extend our most sincere congratulations to the Spanish national team for their victory in the 2023 World Cup, and our solidarity with the female players and all women in the face of the deplorable acts of the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.