Controversy is never far away when it comes to the Spanish women’s national team.
It is more than a year since they were crowned world champions despite off-field tensions caused by the dropping before the tournament of 15 players — who became known as ‘Las 15’ — only some of whom returned for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Those tensions were then brutally exposed by the scandal that followed then-Spanish Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales’ unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the trophy ceremony. The case will go to trial in February; earlier this month, Netflix released a documentary on the player movement it sparked called It’s All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football.
Two of the players who were protagonists in that documentary, Hermoso and longtime captain Irene Paredes, were left out of Spain’s squad for friendlies against South Korea (last Friday, which they won 5-0) and France tonight (Tuesday). Goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez, who was part of Spain’s World Cup squad, is also absent.
So, what is going on and why is it significant?
What happened?
Last month, reigning world champions and UEFA Nations League holders Spain released their squad list for the friendlies against South Korea and France — with three notable absentees.
Captain and Barcelona centre-back Paredes, Hermoso and Real Madrid No 1 Rodriguez were all left out. Barca’s two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas was initially in the squad but was replaced by Valencia’s Fiamma Benitez after it was confirmed she would be out for three weeks with a leg injury.
Paredes had previously been left out of the Spain squad for matches in October against Canada and Italy, but that was after she had just recovered from a hamstring injury she suffered at the end of August. Fellow Barca centre-back Jana Fernandez has been called up in her place while Athletic Club’s Maite Zubieta replaced Hermoso for her first senior call-up.
Paredes and Hermoso are among the national team’s most important players and its most veteran figures along with Putellas — the group are close friends and call themselves ‘dinosaurs’ given how long they have all played for Spain and Barca (Hermoso now plays for Tigres UANL in Mexico after two separate spells with the Catalans).
They were all chosen by the dressing room as captains. Hermoso is Spain’s all-time record appearance maker, Paredes is Barca’s first-choice centre-back and is in good form, while Rodriguez is No 1 for Madrid, one of the most ambitious teams in Spain who are third in Liga F.
Why were Hermoso, Paredes and Rodriguez dropped?
Spain coach Montse Tome was asked about the absence of the three players at her press conference announcing the squad.
“All the players on this list have been assessed on the basis of their sporting performance,” she said. “We think about what the national team needs to perform at the highest level.
“In what we need both on and off the pitch, I think these 24 players give us that.”
Tome then suggested there could be a change of cycle coming up for the national team, but also hinted the decisions were to help the team’s “coexistence”.
“We have been dragging two years behind us, we need to build a team that the national team needs to perform,” she said.
“I thought about which 24 players would give us what we wanted on the pitch and which 24 players would give us the balance in coexistence.
“I have a clear idea of what I want the national team to be like on and off the pitch, I insist a lot on on and off the pitch, and what coexistence in the national team should be like. That collaboration, that comradeship, that know-how to be.”
Tome then gave another press conference before the South Korea game in which she said “things were published in different media that I did not say”.
“Everyone can interpret and say what they want but I don’t feel responsible for that,” she said. “We have to have respect for these 24 players because they deserve to be here.”
What has the reaction been?
Hermoso was the first of the dropped players to respond on social media, posting a message on her Instagram story that read, “Don’t sell your soul to the devil.”
Paredes and Rodriguez both kept a lower profile, until a reporter on Radio Marca, Miguel Serrano, said he did not know how Rodriguez “plays in the equation” but insinuated there might be other reasons for their omissions.
“Mr Serrano says he never met Misa nor knows anything about her, but feels entitled to have an opinion about her that questions her professionalism and exposes without any basis what he thinks is inside Misa’s head, spreading total lies about a young woman who deserves nothing but respect for her achievements and hard work,” the statement on her X account read.
Hermoso responded to that statement with a message on her platforms: “They talk badly about you because if they talk about themselves, no one will listen.”
Hablan mal de ti, porque si hablan de ellos, nadie les escuchará.
— Jenn1 Hermos0 (@Jennihermoso) November 22, 2024
Former Barcelona player and Switzerland international Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic, who is close friends with Paredes, added: “Being a starter in the best club… It will be for performance, won’t it (I ask for a friend)?”.
Spain and Barca No 1 Cata Coll was asked about Paredes’ absence by reporters in the mixed zone after the Catalans’ game against Tenerife.
“Paredes is a player I trust 100 per cent,” she said. “She is my centre-back and I trust her. She is a professional player, she will continue to do well. The club trusts her and so do we. I suppose she will be back, if it is for something sporting.”
Why is this significant?
Perhaps one of the most notable voices to react to the omissions was Vero Boquete, an icon of Spanish women’s football who now plays for Fiorentina.
“I’m reliving the same situation and the same modus operandi they had with me after the 2015 World Cup,” she told newspaper Marca. “It’s regrettable, shameful and disrespectful the way a player like Irene Paredes is being treated. It breaks my heart what is being done to her.
“A coach can dismiss a player for sporting or personal reasons, but the departure of the captain and leader of a national team must be done in a clearer, more humane and professional way.”
Boquete was referring to the aftermath of Spain’s group-stage exit at the 2015 World Cup, when she led a player uprising against longtime coach Ignacio Quereda for the harassment and mistreatment he had subjected them to. The Athletic previously reported on players’ experiences under Quereda and the former coach did not respond to a request for comment at the time.
The RFEF made some changes and sacked Quereda after 27 years in charge. Jorge Vilda was appointed as his replacement — but Boquete was dropped from the squad and has not been called up since.
‘Las 15’ complained about a lack of professionalism and poor standards under Vilda and sent an email to the Federation ruling themselves out of selection until things improved. Some players made themselves available again after minimal steps were taken to address their concerns — such as more coaches, a private charter, fewer buses and a promise to travel to New Zealand for the World Cup well in advance — but Vilda continued to leave certain rebels out.
The most surprising case was that of goalkeeper Sandra Panos. She had just won the Champions League with Barcelona and was dropped after publicly complaining about the RFEF, although it claimed this was for sporting reasons. Her back-up at Barca, Coll, was called up instead despite having been injured for months with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and helped Spain lift the World Cup as No 1.
Boquete appeared to suggest history was repeating itself in her message on social media. Some Spanish reports have suggested Hermoso and Rodriguez have shown their displeasure when they have not started games. The RFEF declined to comment when asked about this and The Athletic also contacted Hermoso and Rodriguez’s entourages.
Hermoso and Paredes are good friends, while Rodriguez is close to both.
Does it make any sense?
Rodriguez started the 2023 World Cup but was dropped halfway through in favour of Coll, although she went to seek out her replacement at the full-time whistle following the final against England to celebrate.
Paredes was elected captain by her team-mates and it is hard to see her creating a bad atmosphere if they chose for her to wear the armband. She returned from her injury in September and is starting for Barcelona — her Spain replacement was Jana Fernandez, her understudy at club level.
People in Paredes’ entourage — who, like the other sources cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — say she received no call or explanation from the RFEF or Tome explaining why she would not be called up. They say she wants to play for Spain again and will focus on performing better until she earns a recall.
Hermoso was one of the best players at the World Cup and helped Tigres qualify for the final of the Liga MX Femenil, the Mexican women’s top-flight, this season.
What the players all have in common is they are strong presences in the dressing room and were leaders in the biggest revolution seen in Spanish women’s football.
Could Paredes, Hermoso and Rodriguez return?
Several people close to the current Spain squad — who have asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — have told The Athletic they are surprised and feel as if Tome is hampering her own national team by not bringing the best players possible.
Tome got the top job after Vilda was sacked in summer 2023. She had been his assistant before then and, while the players were happy to see Vilda gone given their complaints about his time in charge, they initially saw Tome as a continuation of his tenure. She has distanced herself from Vilda in several press conferences.
It is hard to say whether Paredes, Hermoso and Rodriguez could return given the latter two did not receive calls from the RFEF informing them they would not be called up — although Tome did tell the press conference before the South Korea game, “We are not closing the door on any player.”
Hermoso’s entourage did not respond to requests for comment for this article.
(Top photo: Paredes and Hermoso, centre, lift Spain’s UEFA Nations League trophy earlier this year; by David Ramos/Getty Images)
