Spain: Soccer Head Faces Sexual Assault Charge for Forced Kiss; Women Players Strike over Pay

Spain’s national prosecutor has announced a criminal investigation into Luis Rubiales, the head of Spain’s soccer federation, after he forcibly kissed Spanish soccer star Jenni Hermoso during the recent World Cup trophy ceremony. Hermoso filed a sexual assault complaint against Rubiales, who has been temporarily suspended by soccer’s international governing body FIFA, but has refused to step down voluntarily. No permanent sanctions have been announced. Meanwhile, the rest of the Spanish women’s soccer league is on strike over pay and working conditions after talks between federation leadership and the players’ union broke down. We look at what has become a #MeToo moment in Spanish sports with Brenda Elsey, co-host of the feminist sports podcast _Burn It All Down_, who says institutional change is desperately needed in the male-dominated world of soccer. “If they had listened to women for the last eight years, to the players, this wouldn’t have had to happen, but they absolutely refused to make any changes,“ Elsey says of FIFA, noting that widespread support for Hermoso is bringing to light a “spectrum“ of abuse and exploitation in the sport. Transcript: Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Support independent media: Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: