Sarina Wiegman praises courage of Jenni Hermoso and Spain after Luis Rubiales found guilty of sexual assault
Published 25/02/2025 at 13:45 GMT
Spain's former football federation boss Luis Rubiales was found guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent after the FIFA Women's World Cup final in 2023. He was fined but avoided a prison sentence. Rubiales was acquitted of coercion. England play Spain in the UEFA Nations League on Wednesday and ahead of the match, Sarina Wiegman has praised the Spanish players.
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England manager Sarina Wiegman has praised the "remarkable courage" of Jenni Hermoso and the Spanish national team for the way they handled themselves during the trial of the country’s former football federation president Luis Rubiales.
He was found guilty of sexual assault for kissing Hermoso without consent during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup medal ceremony, after Spain had beaten England in the final of the tournament.
Rubiales was fined €10,800 and banned from going within a 200m radius of Hermoso, as well as communicating with her, for one year.
He was acquitted of coercion, for allegedly trying to force Hermoso into saying the kiss had been consensual.
Ahead of England and Spain meeting in the UEFA Nations League at Wembley on Wednesday, Wiegman was asked about their opponents’ ability to continue performing to a high level while the case has been lingering in the background.
"It says first of all that they are a very good team but it also says that they show resilience and they are so brave," she said.
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Luis Rubiales
Image credit: Getty Images
"I think we have to keep talking about it, unfortunately, and we have to keep telling the world that we stand in solidarity with them, and hopefully it will make change. I think it has already made change.
"We want to celebrate the football, we want to be talking about the football. We are talking about performances but also about this and I hope that soon we can focus on the football."
England striker Alessia Russo plays alongside Spain internationals Laia Codina and Mariona Caldenty for her club side, Arsenal.
Speaking about how the trial has affected them, Russo said: "Obviously you never want your team-mates to have to go through something like the process that has been going on, but they have acted with so much class.
"It's not been easy. They are top players as well and their standards are always sky high.
"I am grateful to have teammates and people like that around me day-in-day-out."
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Alessia Russo and Jenni Hermoso
Image credit: Getty Images
"We have stood in solidarity with them since the moment it began. It is really a shame they have had to go through this.
"We hope it makes change going forward and it is a testament to the players, to be so brave and speak out but also to still be performing at the level that they are."
'We don't want to be looking back'
Wednesday’s Wembley showdown will be the first time England and Spain have met since the 2023 Women’s World Cup, when the Spaniards were crowned world champions with a 1-0 win in Sydney.
England’s Alessia Russo has been asked if the Nations League clash is a chance to take revenge for that defeat.
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"I think for me, revenge reflects on the past a little bit, we're a new team. We have lots of new faces and lots of new qualities within the squad now.
"We don't want to be looking back. Obviously, it hurt. You can ask every player who was in that game, it wasn't nice to lose out but we want to be moving forward.
"We have got a new opportunity, we're back at Wembley, we have got all of our fans there. We're really looking forward to that."
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