Category Archives: Women’s football

Luis Rubiales has eggs thrown at him during book launch in Madrid

Posted on by

  • Former Spanish federation president struck by three eggs

  • Rubiales claims the assailant ‘was my own uncle’

The disgraced former Spanish football federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales had eggs flung at him, allegedly by his uncle, during the presentation of his new book on Thursday in Madrid.

Rubiales, convicted of sexual assault for a forced kiss on the player Jenni Hermoso after Spain won the Women’s World Cup, appeared to be struck on the back by an egg as the man Rubiales claimed was his uncle threw three in the direction of the 48-year-old.

Continue reading...

New legal challenge to plan for Spurs football academy in London park

Posted on by

Campaigners crowdfund £26,000 to seek judicial review of move to construct pitches in wildlife-rich area

Campaigners are mounting another legal challenge to the building of a women’s football academy by Tottenham Hotspur on wildlife-rich parkland in north London.

The Guardians of Whitewebbs group has successfully crowdfunded £26,000 to seek a judicial review of Enfield council’s granting of planning permission for the Spurs academy, which will include all-weather pitches, floodlights and a turf academy built on 53 hectares (130 acres) of Whitewebbs Park. Enfield council’s planning committee approved the proposals in February, despite local protests, on greenbelt parkland rich in bats, newts and mature trees.

Continue reading...

Lionesses set for London open-top bus parade after Euros triumph

Posted on by

Keir Starmer leads tributes to England women’s team along with figures including King Charles and Prince William

The Lionesses are set for an open-top bus parade in central London after they overcame Spain to win back-to-back European Championships.

The open-top bus procession along the Mall will start at 12.10pm on Tuesday, before a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.

Continue reading...

‘She’s an inspiration to the youngsters’: the rapid rise of Michelle Agyemang

Posted on by

Lioness has gone from prospect to superstar at Euro 2025 – and she’s got more than just football in her locker

Four years ago, Michelle Agyemang was a ballgirl at Wembley stadium, witnessing the Lionesses’ rule the pitch in a 4-0 victory against Northern Ireland. Now, at just 19 years old, she no longer finds herself retrieving balls that have veered out of play, but is an integral part of the team she once admired from the sidelines.

The forward, who football fans hope will be showing off her on-pitch magic on Sunday as the Lionesses’ face off against Spain in the Euros 2025 final, began her journey to the top of the sport in her Essex home town of South Ockendon.

Continue reading...

NWSL’s Angel City wear ‘Immigrant City Football Club’ shirts after Los Angeles raids

Posted on by

  • Team handed out 10,000 shirts bearing message

  • Protests have erupted across LA in response to raids

Angel City, Los Angeles’ NWSL team, wore shirts that proclaimed themselves “Immigrant City Football Club” before Saturday night’s game against the North Carolina Courage.

The team also printed 10,000 t-shirts bearing the same message, with “Los Angeles is for Everyone” on the back in English and Spanish, and gave them to fans at the game. The move was in solidarity with immigrants in the city who have been targeted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Continue reading...

Goodison Park saved from bulldozers to become home of Everton Women

Posted on by

US owners confirm it will become the country’s first major stadium dedicated to a women’s team next season

Goodison Park, one of the UK’s oldest football stadiums, has been saved from demolition and will become the country’s first major stadium dedicated solely to a women’s team next season.

Hailed as a gamechanging move for women’s football, Everton Women will kick off their first season at Goodison in September, 133 years after the men’s team started playing at the ground in Walton, Liverpool.

Continue reading...

Luis Rubiales tells court he asked Jenni Hermoso if he could kiss her

Posted on by

Former Spanish football federation boss is accused of sexual assault after kissing player at Women’s World Cup

The former Spanish football federation boss Luis Rubiales has told a court that he asked the player Jenni Hermoso if he could kiss her before doing so after the Women’s World Cup victory in 2023.

“I am absolutely sure that she gave me her permission,” Rubiales, 47, told the court in Madrid. “In that moment it was something completely spontaneous.”

Continue reading...

Sam Kerr jury asked to consider difference if she had called a police officer ‘stupid and black’

Posted on by

Prosecutor argues Matildas star’s claims about what happened in taxi do not make ‘one blind bit of difference to what this case is about’

Prosecutors in the trial of Australian star Sam Kerr, who called a police officer “stupid and white”, have asked the jury to consider if it would be different had she said “stupid and black”.

The 31-year-old Matildas striker is on trial charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to PC Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London in the early hours of 30 January 2023. Kerr denies the charges.

Continue reading...

Luis Rubiales to go on trial in Spain over Jenni Hermoso kiss at World Cup

Posted on by

Spanish football federation’s former president is accused of sexual assault and coercion over incident in 2023

Spain’s former football chief Luis Rubiales will go on trial in Madrid on Monday over the unsolicited kiss he planted on the World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso, a gesture that stunned millions of TV viewers and unleashed a backlash against sexism in sport.

Rubiales, 47, is accused of sexual assault as well as coercion after allegations that he tried to force Hermoso, 34, into publicly declaring that the kiss, which occurred as she celebrated her team’s victory in the 2023 World Cup in Australia, was consensual.

Continue reading...

FA apologises to female Muslim footballer over tracksuit bottoms ban

Posted on by

Iqra Ismail, who does not wear shorts for religious reasons, was prevented from entering field of play during game

The Football Association has apologised to a Muslim footballer after she was barred from playing in a match for refusing to wear shorts due to her religious beliefs.

Iqra Ismail was meant to come on as a half-time substitute for United Dragons in a Greater London Women’s Football League fixture against Tower Hamlets on Sunday, but she was prevented from entering the field of play by the referee.

Continue reading...

Top female footballers urge Fifa to end deal with Saudi ‘nightmare sponsor’

Posted on by

Letter to governing body accuses Saudis of using sports to ‘distract from the regime’s brutal human rights reputation’

More than 100 professional female footballers have signed a letter calling on Fifa to end its sponsorship deal with the state-owned Saudi Arabian oil company, Aramco, accusing Saudi authorities of “brutal human rights violations”.

A four-year deal signed in April will see Aramco, which is 98.5% state-owned, sponsor major tournaments including the men’s World Cup in 2026 and the Women’s World Cup in 2027.

Continue reading...

Mary Earps becomes first women’s football star to get Madame Tussauds waxwork

Posted on by

The England goalkeeper says decision is example of how she and the Lionesses ‘break barriers and push boundaries’

England goalkeeper Mary Earps has become the first professional female footballer to have a wax figure at Madame Tussauds London.

Members of the public voted for the 31-year-old to be added to the attraction after the Lionesses’ success in reaching the final of the 2023 World Cup and winning the 2022 European Championships.

Continue reading...

Luis Rubiales faces possible 30-month jail sentence for Jenni Hermoso kiss

Posted on by
  • Spanish prosecutors issue two charges against Rubiales
  • Three others alleged to have coerced Hermoso

Luis Rubiales could face a prison sentence of two and a half years if convicted of kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips against her will, court documents have shown. The former Spanish football federation chief has been charged with one count of sexual assault and one of coercion in the aftermath of the kiss, offences carrying jail terms of one year and 18 months respectively.

The 46-year-old grabbed ­Hermoso and kissed her on the lips on 20 August during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England in the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney, sparking global outrage and ­causing a national debate in Spain about ­sexism. ­Hermoso and her teammates said the kiss was unwanted and demeaning, but Rubiales argued it was consensual and denied any wrongdoing.

Continue reading...

Spanish forward Jenni Hermoso gives evidence in court on Rubiales kiss

Posted on by

Hermoso gives testimony as judge investigates former Spanish football federation president over kiss after World Cup win

The Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso has given evidence to a judge investigating the kiss she received from the then president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, after Spain’s win in the World Cup final last August.

Rubiales’ decision to take Hermoso’s head in his hands and kiss her on the lips caused an outcry and a national and international debate on sexism. It has also led to Rubiales being investigated for alleged sexual assault and coercion by a judge at Spain’s highest criminal court, the audiencia nacional.

Continue reading...

‘An outstanding person’: tributes paid to former Team GB footballer Gemma Wiseman

Posted on by

Wiseman, who has died at the age of 33, represented England and Great Britain’s deaf women’s teams

Tributes have been paid to former Team GB footballer Gemma Wiseman after her death at the age of 33.

Wiseman represented England and Great Britain’s deaf women’s teams and helped guide GB to third place at the 2016 World Deaf Football Championships.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Continue reading...

‘I need mum and dad here’: the charity helping young Afghan footballers reunite with relatives

Posted on by

The Refugee Council is welcoming those who fled the Taliban and providing legal advice on resettlement in the UK

• Donate to our charity appeal here

Two years on from their arrival in South Yorkshire, young footballers Elaha Safdari, Najma Arifi and Narges Mayeli are still baffled by the array of regional accents in the UK. “I’m always like, ‘Pardon? Can you please repeat? What did you say?’” laughs Arifi, now 20.

This barrier is only a minor hurdle for the trio, who were forced to flee for their lives when the west pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

Continue reading...

Spain’s World Cup win was part of battle for equality, says Jenni Hermoso

Posted on by

Footballer says becoming champions was ‘the only way that we had left to be heard, respected and valued’

The Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso has said Spain’s World Cup win was part of a “more human, more transcendent” battle for equality in her first public remarks since her team’s triumph was overshadowed by an unsolicited kiss.

The speech was made as part of an event in Mexico, where Hermoso plays for the football club Pachuca, and which featured a tribute to the world champion. The 33-year-old began by describing her emotions as she lifted the World Cup trophy alongside her teammates.

Continue reading...

Spanish court imposes restraining order on Rubiales after kiss allegations

Posted on by

Former Spanish football federation president prevented from approaching World Cup-winning player Jenni Hermoso

A Spanish court has imposed a restraining order on the former president of the country’s football federation, forbidding him from communicating with, or coming within 200 metres of, the female player he controversially kissed after Spain’s World Cup victory last month.

Luis Rubiales – whose decision to kiss Jenni Hermoso prompted a national and international debate on sexism and eventually led him to resign five days ago – was handed the order on Friday by a judge at the audiencia nacional, Spain’s highest criminal court.

Continue reading...

Former Spain captain says Luis Rubiales row felt like ‘going to war’

Posted on by

Verónica Boquete alleges Jenni Hermoso’s phone was hacked after kiss by football boss at World Cup

A former captain of Spain’s women’s national football team has described the weeks-long standoff over the fate of Luis Rubiales as a “war” that has pitted more than 100 of the country’s top female players against certain members of the Spanish football establishment.

In an interview published on Monday, Verónica Boquete even went so far as to claim that Jenni Hermoso’s phone had been hacked, which may have been an attempt to discredit Hermoso in the wake of the unsolicited kiss by Rubiales.

Continue reading...

Luis Rubiales quits in wake of World Cup kiss scandal

Posted on by

Spanish football boss forcibly kissed Jenni Hermoso after the final and had previously refused to step down

Luis Rubiales has resigned as the head of Spain’s football federation almost a month after he grabbed and kissed the midfielder Jenni Hermoso during the celebrations of the country’s victory in the Women’s World Cup, sparking fury, incredulity and a national and international debate on sexism.

Rubiales had initially attempted to brush off the controversy over the unsolicited kiss after the team’s 1-0 victory over England in Sydney. He dismissed critics of his actions as “idiots and stupid people” as the incident provoked global outrage, led to his being provisionally suspended by Fifa, and prompted Hermoso to make a criminal complaint accusing him of sexual assault.

Continue reading...