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karren brady
Spain’s women won the World Cup, then a man managed to ruin everything
WHAT kind of twisted world are we living in when the victim of a clear case of sexual harassment, witnessed by millions, has to go into hiding?
Meanwhile, the guilty man struts his stuff on the world stage, refusing to accept he has done anything wrong.
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There is something obscene about “kiss-gate” Spanish football ace Jenni Hermoso feeling so overwhelmed she has to retreat from public view.
The World Cup-winning striker has come under sustained attack because the career of Spain’s FA President Luis Rubiales is now on the line thanks to his own sexist stupidity.
Hermoso’s crime? Having the temerity to confirm what we could all see: The kiss Rubiales planted on her lips, while yanking her head towards him in a vice-like grip, was not consensual.
But never mind the evidence. From the get-go, Rubiales has strenuously denied any wrongdoing, claiming she consented and whining that he is the victim of a “social assassination” by “false feminists”.
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So that includes the Fifa bosses, who suspended him for 90 days, the prosecutors investigating him and members of the Spanish women’s team and its coaching staff — bar the deeply unpopular head coach Jorge Vilda — some of whom have resigned in protest?
DEPRESSING STANDARD
Leaving aside Rubiales’s family — and even they are divided — only the overwhelmingly male Spanish football federation continues to back him, circling the wagons to protect their own, as is so often the case when a man is under attack for bad behaviour towards a woman.
Instead of stopping him from trying to gaslight Hermoso, they too questioned her account and threatened her with legal action for lying.
Set aside for a moment that the kiss was filmed from almost every angle and witnessed around the world.
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Hermoso herself has stated there was no consent, that it was an “impulse-driven, sexist, out-of-place act”, and that she was put under “continuous pressure” to exonerate Rubiales.
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Why would she lie? It was clear from the outset that by telling the truth she was making herself a target for every macho misogynist in football.
And there’s no shortage of those. Why would she consent to a kiss from a middle-aged man who had just been filmed grabbing his crotch while standing near Queen Letizia of Spain and her 16-year-old daughter Infanta Sofia?
Also, when did this consent take place? Did he get it from Hermoso in writing before the match?
It certainly didn’t appear to be under discussion in the heat of the moment before he firmly planted his lips on hers.
So far, so depressingly standard. It’s a lesson in why women often don’t report sexual harassment or abuse.
They know that what happens next will probably make things much, much worse.
Unfortunately for Rubiales and his buddies in the Spanish football federation, Hermoso and her teammates are made of sterner stuff than most victims.
Hermoso has steadfastly stuck by her story. In a show of solidarity, 23 players of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, as well as 32 other squad members, insist they will not play for their country again while Rubiales remains in post.
And when the Spanish FA tried to pressure the team’s backroom staff into supporting their boss, they resigned too.
Sarina Wiegman has even dedicated her Uefa Coach of the Year award to the Spanish team that pipped her England Women’s team in the final, saying they “deserve to be celebrated and listened to”.
She’s right. The real story here is Spain’s brilliant performance in the World Cup.
And that is why Jenni Hermoso did not complain instantly about that kiss.
She had no desire to take the shine off her teammates’ triumph.
Which is more than can be said for Rubiales, a sad, posturing, middle-aged mummy’s boy, who is putting his own survival above his country’s glory. Time to kiss him goodbye.
Teens plan is a winner
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THOSE getting in a tizz about plans for a new National Service scheme, championed by Penny Mordaunt, need to calm down.
It’s not about square-bashing or uniform drills. It’s purely a plan for every 16-year-old to take part in a two-week “civic exploration” trip, which will see them travel away from home to do voluntary work.
Then they would build on what they have achieved by doing more volunteering in their own community. It wouldn’t even be compulsory.
Teenagers would have the ability to opt out before they are assigned to a programme.
I can’t think of a better idea to boost the confidence and self-worth of the UK’s young people, many of whom are still struggling after Covid lockdowns and are preoccupied with social media.
The Commons leader said last week it would foster “goodwill and community spirit, energy and imagination” and promote “good mental health and resilience”.
I’m 100 per cent behind her. We should expect more of our young people.
By showing them how to give something back to their world, we can equip them to play a fulfilling part in it.
Plane sense
SOME parents are worried that the Turkish airline Corendon’s plan to launch adults-only sections on its flights will catch on.
The company promises passengers “a shielded environment” that will contribute “to a calm and relaxed flight”.
I suspect the mums and dads complaining about this are exactly the sort who ignore their children while they scream non-stop, kick the back of other passengers’ seats and run up and down the aisle while harassed cabin crew try not to run them down with the drinks trolley.
Why is this controversial? If people want to pay more to avoid putting up with that, then let them. Sounds like a good business decision to me.
Amanda turns the other cheek
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THERE is something undeniably satisfying about crafting the perfect response.
So hats off to Amanda Holden, who managed to resist putting Andrew Tate in his place.
When the controversial influencer claimed she was too old to pose in a bikini – er, as if – the BGT judge came close to hitting back with a racy picture.
“I had another shot of me in a bikini with just a close-up of my bum and I was tempted to post it with the caption, ‘Kiss my 52-year-old a***’,” Amanda said.
“But you just know something like that’s going to go on and on – and in the end, why give him the oxygen?”
Too right. This failed reality TV star, who is to stand trial on allegations of human trafficking, does not need any more publicity.
Better to leave him festering in his sad little bunker – or, if guilty, in jail.
Get 'em in dock
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AT last, convicted criminals will be forced to attend sentencing hearings.
And those who still resist the “reasonable force” permitted by the new law could get an extra two years’ jail time added to their sentences.
If you commit a crime as vile as child killers like nurse Lucy Letby or gunman Thomas Cashman, you should be forced to face up to the consequences – and left in no doubt about what the world thinks of you.
Daddy dodge
THE study that revealed it takes first-time dads two years to feel happy in their relationships again after the birth of their child made me think.
I don’t doubt that it is hard for men to see their lives completely change overnight.
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They have to cope with sleepless nights, a grumpy, exhausted partner and hardly any social life. It’s tough.
But just factor in hormone overload, sore nipples and a body you no longer recognise, and count yourself lucky.
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