How the Women’s World Cup final kiss row turned into Spain’s #MeToo moment
Ever since Spanish football federation boss Luis Rubiales grabbed player Jenni Hermoso and kissed her on the lips in response to the team’s World Cup victory, Spanish women have taken to the streets to say: “Se Acabo (it’s over).”
Mr Rubiales, who claims to be the subject of a “witch hunt”, has since been suspended by FIFA for 90 days and faces mounting pressure to resign.
Hermoso says she’s been the “victim of aggression” and in “no moment” did she consent to the kiss. Meanwhile, her team and coaching staff have refused to come back to work until Mr Rubiales is sacked.
Many are likening the growing solidarity movement to a Spanish version of #MeToo or #TimesUp.
Here Sky News takes a closer look at how the World Cup kiss has opened up the debate on women’s rights in Spain – and why it’s taken so long.
Jenni Hermoso is kissed by Luis Rubiales
Issues with Spanish feminism date back to Franco
During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, Spanish women’s status as second-class citizens was enshrined in law.
The civil code’s ‘permiso marital’ effectively made them the property of their husbands – unable to travel or have their own bank account without their permission.
It wasn’t until Franco’s death in 1975 two years before Luis Rubiales was born that this was revoked.
But even afterwards, years of brutal police crackdowns on any sort of group organising left Spanish feminism more on an individual level than a mass movement, says Dr Lorraine Ryan, assistant professor of Hispanic studies at the University of Birmingham.
So when other countries followed the US with its #MeToo movement after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke in 2017, there was a noted lack of a “coherent” equivalent in Spain, she tells Sky News.
“Spanish feminism has always been diluted by the competing demands between older and younger feminists during the transition to democracy about what form it would take.
“So the feminism that predominates in Spain is neoliberal feminism, which is highly individualistic – and doesn’t allow for collective solidarity.”
This tension between young and old can be seen in the difference between the women marching in Madrid in solidarity with Hermoso and Mr Rubiales’ mother going on hunger strike in his defence, she adds.
Protests in the Plaza Callao in Madrid
Laws have changed – but some attitudes have not
Mindful of its record on women’s rights, under left-wing prime minister Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish state has invested heavily in gender reform.
“Spain has changed so much, particularly in the last decade,” Spanish journalist Maria Ramirez tells the Sky News Daily podcast.
“If you look at some measures like the UN ranking on gender equality, Spain fares better than the UK because we have more women in parliament, lower maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birthrate,” she says.
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In 2008 it set up a dedicated Ministry of Equality and earlier this year it gave female employees the legal right to three to five days “period leave” for menstrual pain.
2023 has also seen the culmination of a rape case that some say was Spain’s original ‘MeToo moment’.
After an 18-year-old student was gang raped by five men during Pamplona’s famous bull run in 2016 – in what became known as the ‘wolf pack’ case – a court acquitted them of rape on a technicality that meant because they didn’t use violence to coerce the victim, they were only guilty of the lesser offence of ‘sexual abuse’.
A protest movement emerged on the streets and online – and this year Spain finally passed its ‘only yes means yes’ legislation, which means both parties must verbally consent to sex.
Protests against the ‘wolf pack’ court ruling in Madrid in 2018
But the outcry around the wolf pack case sparked a fierce backlash among some men, which was seized upon by the far-right and Santiago Apascal’s Vox Party.
“Spanish women no longer want the Spanish macho man of yesteryear, they’re no longer subservient to them – but there’s been a backlash to women’s progress,” Dr Ryan says.
This has manifested in a fresh wave of support for Mr Apascal’s “retrograde, nearly quasi-Francoist” take on women’s rights, she adds.
Read more:
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We asked people in Madrid about Rubiales – this was their response
“For me, the Rubiales affair brings to light the asymmetry between token institutional reform and the everyday reality for Spanish women. It shows how embedded those attitudes still are.”
Dr Jane Lavery, associate professor in Latin American and Iberian studies at the University of Southampton, agrees.
“Despite the advances in Spain, sadly gender discrimination, sexual abuse and hypermasculine behaviours still prevail today, with men often abusing their positions of power – as we see in the Rubiales case,” she says.
This comes in the form of workplace inequality, harassment and domestic violence, which she says are still “endemic”.
And although Spain is one of the few EU countries to specifically track the killing of women and girls, eight women being killed by their current or ex-partners in eight weeks forced protesters to take to the streets earlier this year with placards saying: “Machismo kills”.
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Spanish deputy prime minister Yolanda Diaz: Rubiales acted with ‘sexual aggression’
Why have women finally said #SeAcabo to Rubiales?
While the 2016 wolf pack case had elements of #MeToo, it didn’t have the same level of response the World Cup kiss row has had, journalist Maria Ramirez tells the Sky News Daily podcast.
The reasons for this are threefold, she says. Their international status has pushed the debate beyond Spain’s borders; female sports journalists have insisted on covering it – even when the players themselves were reluctant; and the reforms brought in since 2016 send a message that Spanish society has changed.
A fan in the stands at Rayo Vallecano v Atletico Madrid on 28 August
“Seven years ago there was #MeToo in Spain, but the laws nor many of those in power were there to support women,” according to Dr Lavery.
“But now women’s football has garnered much more attention, they’re paid more, they have celebrityhood on their side.
“Like with Weinstein in the US, it was celebrities coming out to talk that finally brought him to justice.”
Men have also come out in solidarity, with #SeAcabo appearing on the shirts of the Sevilla team last week and male politicians from Spain to the UN making statements, she adds.
Jesus Navas of Sevilla FC
In contrast, when 15 of the Spanish national team refused to play over claims coach Jorge Vilda wasn’t concerned about their “physical and mental health”, the football federation backed him – this time they’ve urged Mr Rubiales to step down.
Dr Ryan says the Rubiales affair showcases the new wave of Spanish women who “won’t accept their mothers’ lies”.
“It’s consolidated the unacceptability of men being entitled and saying: ‘I want to touch you’.”
FC Barcelona’s women’s team before a friendly on 29 August
But she warns that even if he is sacked or resigned – he could still be reinstated.
“We have to be careful in praising Spain for its gender reform. The ‘Macho Iberico’ is still alive and aided by institutional structures that might not be apparent to us but are very, very powerful. So will this crystalise gender reform? Or will he be reincorporated in six months to a year?”
Dr Lavery adds that systemic issues around gender will only be properly dealt with if education goes alongside political and legal change.
World
Bodies of two more Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas – but uncertainty over missing remains
The bodies of two more Israeli hostages have been handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas – but uncertainty still hangs over the fate of the missing remains of others.
Under the ceasefire agreement, all remaining 48 hostages, dead and alive, were supposed to be returned by this Monday.
So far, only the 20 living hostages have been returned, as well as seven dead hostages, according to Israel’s count, with two further bodies still being verified.
Just hours after today’s handover, the Israeli military said a tenth body previously turned over was not that of a hostage – and the confusion added to tensions over the fragile truce that has paused the two-year war.
What has Hamas said?
Hamas has previously said recovering the remaining bodies could take time, as not all burial sites are known.
Its armed wing put out a statement on Wednesday, saying it has returned all the bodies it could reasonably recover, but would require special equipment to hand over the remaining ones.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry said it received 45 more bodies of Palestinians from Israel, another step in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
Red Cross vehicles escort a truck transporting the bodies of Palestinian hostages. Pic: Reuters.
That brings to 90 the total number of bodies returned to Gaza for burial. The forensics team examining the remains claimed they showed signs of mistreatment.
Trump issues warning
The return of all the hostages is a key pillar of the deal agreed to by Israel and Hamas, heralded by US President Donald Trump as having brought “peace in the Middle East”.
Israel – which has freed around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the peace deal – had already threatened to keep the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed on Wednesday, and limit aid entering Gaza, due to Hamas not returning all of the dead.
And in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Mr Trump warned that Israel could resume the war if he feels Hamas is not upholding its end of the agreement.
“Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word,” he said.
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Trump: ‘If Hamas doesn’t disarm, we will disarm them’
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Since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023 – in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage – the two sides have been at war.
Nearly 68,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s subsequent offensive, according to the Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government in Gaza.
The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts – though the ministry does not say how many of those killed are combatants.
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Middle East correspondent Adam Parsons explains why tensions may begin to bubble
Similar incident in previous ceasefire
This is not the first time Hamas has returned a wrong body to Israel.
During a previous ceasefire, the group said it handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, but testing in February 2025 showed that one of the bodies returned was identified as a Palestinian woman. Ms Bibas’ body was returned a day later.
Meanwhile, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem accused Israel of violating the deal with shootings on Tuesday in eastern Gaza City and the southern city of Rafah.
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Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the military is operating along the deployment lines troops withdrew to under the deal, and he warned that anyone approaching the lines will be targeted, as happened on Tuesday with several militants.
Aid trickling in
The World Food Programme said its trucks began arriving in Gaza after the entrance of humanitarian aid was paused for two days due to the exchange on Monday and a Jewish holiday on Tuesday.
The timing of the scaled-up deliveries – which are also part of the ceasefire deal – had been called into question after Israel said on Tuesday that it would cut the number of trucks allowed into Gaza, saying Hamas was too slow to return the hostages’ bodies.
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid and fuel enter Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. Pic: AP
Abeer Etefa, spokesperson for the World Food Programme, lauded the trucks’ passage but said the situation remained unpredictable.
“We’re hopeful that access will improve in the coming days,” she said.
The Egyptian Red Crescent said 400 trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies were bound for Gaza on Wednesday.
Fifteen UK charities have launched a fresh appeal for donations to Gaza to address “catastrophic levels of need” in the devastated region.
The charities make up the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which has been raising millions for Gaza – where tens of thousands have been killed over the past two years of war – and the wider Middle East.
After the initial stage of a much-sought ceasefire deal aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza was agreed on by Israel and Hamas, aid has begun to trickle into the devastated region again.
According to the DEC, its charities and local partners have been scaling up their work in the Gaza Strip since the agreement took effect last week.
Palestinians walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
It said lorries carrying food and other aid began to enter Gaza on Sunday, with the British Red Cross and Plan International UK among those confirming supplies had made it in.
After raising more than £50m since the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal was launched last October, the DEC is renewing calls for donations, saying £10 could provide blankets for two people, while £50 could provide emergency food for five families for one week.
Read more:
Trump warned plan for Gaza ‘doesn’t make sense’
Israel says no match for body handed over by Hamas
As goods are returning to Gaza’s markets, the DEC said, they are increasing cash assistance to help people buy essentials as they become more affordable.
They’re also distributing clean water, medicine, food, and nutrition support.
On its website, the DEC pointed to how famine was declared in Gaza City in August as it appealed for funds saying: “Your support can save lives.”
You can donate to the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal at dec.org.uk.
Donald Trump has refused to say if the CIA has the authority to assassinate Venezuela’s president, after approving covert operations in the country to tackle alleged drug trafficking.
The classified decision, first revealed by The New York Times, marks a significant escalation in efforts to pressure President Nicolas Maduro‘s regime.
Mr Trump said large amounts of drugs were entering the US from Venezuela, much of it trafficked by sea.
“We are looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” he said.
When asked why the coastguard wasn’t asked to intercept suspected drug trafficking boats, which has been a longstanding US practice, Mr Trump said the approach had been ineffective.
“I think Venezuela is feeling heat,” he said.
He declined to answer whether the CIA has the authority to execute Mr Maduro.
The US has offered a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to his arrest, accusing him of connections to drug trafficking and criminal organisations – claims he denies.
President Nicolas Maduro. Pic: Reuters
Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday evening. Pic: Reuters
US targets ‘drug boats’
Mr Trump also alleged Venezuela had sent a significant number of prisoners, including individuals from mental health facilities, into the US, though he did not specify the border through which they reportedly entered.
On Tuesday, he announced America had targeted a small boat suspected of drug trafficking in waters off the Venezuelan coast, resulting in the deaths of six people.
According to the president’s post on social media, all those killed were aboard the vessel.
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Footage of the strike was released by Donald Trump on social media. Pic: Truth Social
The incident marked the fifth such fatal strike in the Caribbean, as the Trump administration continues to classify suspected drug traffickers as unlawful combatants to be confronted with military force.
War secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the strike, according to Mr Trump, who released a video of the operation.
The black-and-white footage showed a small boat seemingly stationary on the water. It is struck by a projectile from above and explodes, then drifts while burning for several seconds.
Mr Trump said the “lethal kinetic strike” was in international waters and targeted a boat travelling along a well-known smuggling route.
There has also been a significant increase in US military presence in the southern Caribbean, with at least eight warships, a submarine, and F-35 jets stationed in Puerto Rico.
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