After the historic milestone of the victory of the Spanish women’s soccer team in the World Cup, the kiss on the mouth given by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, to Jennifer Hermoso, a player of that team, tarnished the celebration.

Beyond the kiss, it accuses the macho behaviors that women all over the world, not only sportswomen, deal with on a daily basis. It shows that beyond the surprising attitude of the leader, there is a recurrent pattern of behavior, a product of the underground, patriarchal and sexist system that is still in force in society.

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Many people still do not understand that consent is a relevant issue in today’s times, a matter of dignity towards the image of women.

For those of us watching the match, it was amazing to see Rubiales in the box he shared with Queen Leticia and Infanta Sofia, touching his genitals throughout the match. Under the gaze of hundreds of cameras and millions of people, his behavior left no one indifferent.

Then, when the acknowledgements came, the non-consensual kiss framed her profile. What was she thinking? Was she ecstatic with emotion? Maybe, but that is the degree of responsibility that a person in public office has.

He must be a benchmark of good conduct, of good manners for society and the image of an entire country. With good reason, the headlines of the world’s newspapers gave a good account of what happened, condemning the event.

What we saw was a male chauvinist, sexist and vulgar rude man. We saw the highest authority of the RREF take Hermoso’s head in his hands and place a long kiss on her lips, without asking. A kiss that she did not ask for, that she did not consent to. Then he slapped her on the back, which made her stagger.

Back in the dressing room, moments later, I imagine that her companions asked: “What happened there?” She answered without hesitation “And what do I do? I didn’t like it, huh?”

With that what do I do, what she demonstrated was a superlative degree of helplessness. Stunned by the fact, her possibilities of reaction were limited, due to the hierarchical position of the aggressor, the moment, everything.

This was not a “peck between friends”, as Rubiales has said. A kiss on the mouth, without a friendly relationship and without consent, is a sexual assault, plain and simple. I am sure that a male player would not be kissed in the same way.

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On the other hand, let’s not take away what was danced to the world champions. The conquest of this Women’s World Cup is not just any prize, it is an approach to the meaning of soccer.

If there is a sport par excellence machista is this game. The “king of sports”, until relatively recently considered a masculine sport. That is why this women’s World Cup goes beyond the strictly sporting. It is a demonstration that things can be different.

It is undeniable that women who have decided to make a career as athletes do not have it easy. In addition to the physical level and perseverance they must demonstrate, they must bear the stigma of being women, “weaker” and exposed to hypersexualization.

In comparison to the value of women as sportswomen, they must fulfill family roles, they are poorly paid, by far compared to men.

Rubiales should be dismissed, as he assumes that he will not resign. He will sleep and we will see!

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